Letting Go
by foreverXabby
Summary: Elizabeth Salvatore comes to Mystic Falls, hoping to find her brothers after 146 years. there she meets Jeremy Gilbert and sparks fly. but Elizabeth has a love from her past who just isn't ready to let her go.
1. prologue

_1864_

_~Elizabeth~_

_It was chaos, absolute chaos. People were running and screaming, while the founders struggled to capture all the vampires. I watched from a distance, my eyes scanning for two men I needed to find. Blood covered my mouth. I hid it with my long, dark hair, but it wouldn't work forever._

_"Elizabeth, what are you doing out here? It's too dangerous!" I heard my father's voice say, and I spun around to see him and Jonathan Gilbert, who was clutching a strange compass._

_"I'm sorry father. I was just looking for Stefan and Damon. I can't find them anywhere." I said softly, trying to ignore the soft thumping of his heart pumping blood._

_"Don't worry about them, just get inside. I don't want you to get hurt." he said anxiously, and I nodded, but kept scanning the crowd for them. I couldn't get inside the house even if I wanted too._

_Suddenly Jonathan gasped, looking down at his compass. I saw that it was pointing directly at me. I could tell that it wasn't a good thing by my father's expression._

_"No! No!" he murmured, looking at me with a horrified expression, as my hair shifted to expose my bloody face._

_"Father, I'm sorry!" I cried, starting to run from them, when two men grabbed me and injected me with something that made me feel very, very weak._

_"Father, no, you cannot let them take me!" I tried to shout at him, my voice weak._

_"My daughter, my own daughter…" he was muttering to himself, a look of disgust on his face as he stared at me._

_The men started dragging me away towards a wagon. Just then I saw them- my big brothers. They would make everything okay. They always did._

_"Damon! Stefan! Help me!" I screamed at them, finally finding my voice, as I struggled to throw the men off me._

_They both turned around to face me. I saw looks of horror on their faces, but it wasn't mingled with disgust. They didn't care what I was._

_"Elizabeth!" Damon shouted, starting towards me, but it was too late. They had me at the wagon._

_I tried to see them again, just one more time, but they were lost in the crowd again. I whimpered, as new hands gripped my arms, ready to throw me into the wagon. I was going to die, for good this time._

_"Elizabeth, hurry." murmured a familiar voice in my ear. Suddenly, I was being tugged into the woods, away from all the chaos, away from my brothers._

_I looked up at my savior, Alexander Fell, a boy who was in love with me, though I didn't return those feelings._

_"What are you doing, Alexander?" I murmured my voice faint._

_"I-I can't let you die. I can't." he muttered, more to himself than to me, a look of fear in his eyes._

_"Go, hurry! Before they notice you're gone." he said more firmly this time._

_"I can't… the vervain…" I said, feeling weaker._

_"Y-you need blood, don't you?" he said, the fear growing stronger in his eyes._

_"Yes, but it is alright, I-I am okay with dying." I said, my voice still faint, but my words were firm._

_But Alexander already had his wrist out to me, not meeting my eyes. I shook my head, but I could hear his heartbeat, fast like a drum, because he was so afraid. I could hear the blood rushing in his veins, and before I knew what I was doing, I grabbed his wrist, and bit into it._

_He gave a gasp at the pain, but I paid him no attention, I just sucked the warm, sweet blood. Alexander was starting to say my name, to try to get me to stop, but I couldn't, it was too good._

_"P-please, E-Elizabeth. Stop, you're goin-ng to k-kill me…"_

_His words made me pull away, no matter how much I just wanted to drain him dry. But his words touched my humanity. I couldn't kill the man who just saved my life._

_"I am so sorry." I whispered, the blood energizing me._

_"He didn't look me in the eyes, and I knew at that moment he was thinking what I was thinking: I was a bloodthirsty, murdering monster._

_Still, Alexander didn't drag me back to the wagon, and I saw in his dark blue eyes how much he loved me, no matter how big of a monster I was. I felt so sorry, that I didn't return those feelings. He was a good man._

_"We have to hurry, they probably know that you're missing." He mumbled, pressing his shirt to his bleeding wrist. I tried my best not to think about the warm, sweet blood that was running from the puncture wounds._

_I followed him, though I just really wanted to run back and get my brothers. I couldn't leave without them._

_"Alexander, my brothers…" I trailed off, gazing at him._

_"No, Elizabeth. I'm sorry, but if you go back, they'll kill you. Stefan and Damon can't come with you." He said sympathetically, knowing how close I was to them._

_I sighed. "You're right. I'll come back for them when things settle down." I said stubbornly, and then started walking again. He sighed, but followed me._

_After a while, Alexander stopped us. "I have to get back, or they'll suspect something." He said._

_I nodded. "You're right; I don't want you to get in trouble for me." I said honestly, and then smiled shyly._

_"Thank you, Alexander. I'll never be able to repay you." I murmured, gazing up at him._

_His eyes softened, and he kissed my hand like the southern gentleman he was. "It was my pleasure, Miss Elizabeth." He murmured against my ivory skin._

_I brought his face up, and kissed his lips lightly. It was wrong of me, letting my drastically shifting emotions lead him on, but I would never see him again._

_I pulled away, and smiled coyly, as he gaped at me. "Goodbye, Alexander."_

_"Goodbye Elizabeth." He gasped, and then pressed a ring into my palm. "It will keep you same from the sun."_

_I smiled my thanks, and he gazed at me once more, before leaving._

_I watched him walk away, feeling nothing but loneliness. Alexander went on to marry Louisa Jackson, the daughter of a local farmer who was in love with him. They had four sons and a little girl. Alexander was content with his life, but he secretly never got over the young vampire he rescued from a certain death._

_I slid the ring onto my ring finger, and then continued walking down the path. I would run when I reached the end of town._

_I was lost in my thoughts, which were whirling. My most constant one was if I would ever see my brothers again. Would they be old with children and grandchildren when I finally managed to come back? Would they be sure their little sister was dead?_

_Suddenly, I saw two figures in the middle of the road. They were far from me, but I couldn't hear any heartbeats. I ran with my new speed, and suddenly stood inches from the figures._

_I gasped, and covered my mouth with my hand to stifle a sob. "No."_

_I was looking down at my brothers' bodies._

_I covered my mouth as I bent down closer to them. Their empty eyes stared back up at me._

_Why? Why? Tears fell down my cheeks, as I willed them to get up and say that it was just a joke, like they used to do, back before she came._

_Anger flooded through me, as I thought about her. How she played both of my brothers, how she managed to destroy my family. Well, at least she was dead now, was all I could think._

_What seemed like ages, I managed to stand up and convince myself that I should be leaving._

_With one last anguished look at my brothers, I ran away from this town, leaving all the pained memories with it, but also my brothers._

_That was the last time I ever thought I would see them again._


	2. going home

**Chapter one**

Going home

_Elizabeth_

I think subconsciously I always knew I would go back. In fact, I was already driving towards it before I had actually decided I was going to go home. I hadn't been in Mystic Falls since 1864, and even though I resented it and everything that had happened there, a part of me- the human part- missed the town I grew up in.

Even though I had "convinced" myself that I was over their deaths, I don't think I had ever truly believed that my brothers were dead- that I _wanted _to believe it, even after a century and a half, some part of me believed that Stefan and Damon were out there, waiting for me to come and find them, so that we could be a family again.

They were both reasons why I drove past the "You are now entering Mystic Falls," sign minutes ago, though my brothers were a bigger reason. I didn't know why, but I was sure that if they were alive, they would feel the pull of our old home and come back, just as I was. And even if I didn't find them- which was most likely to happen- I could find something; proof that they were alive or dead, something to stop the ongoing pain when it came to them, something to just let me know what had happened. If Katherine's slutty blood hadn't been in them when they died. I just wanted to move on.

I stopped my car suddenly in front of the Mystic Falls cemetery. A plan started forming inside my head. I got out of the car, where my stuff was- I only had two bags and backpack, since I only kept the essentials- and shook my dark hair out of my face, and my ice blue eyes scanned the area for any nosy neighbors, before I used my vampire speed and ran into the deepest parts of the cemetery.

In seconds, I stood in the oldest parts of the cemetery. I scanned the graves quickly, and after what seemed like ages, I found what I was looking for.

The grave plots stood in a row of five: the Salvatore family. I walked past Giuseppe Salvatore, barely bothering to glare down at my dead father's grave. I frowned sadly at Sarah Salvatore. My mother had died a few years before I did. Then I stood in front of the last three: Damon, Stefan and Elizabeth Salvatore. The three Salvatore children who all died during the civil war, on the same day.

I crouched down between Stefan and Damon's grave, silent tears prickling my eyes, as I wondered to myself whether or not they were buried where I was a standing at that exact moment.

I knew that just because they had a headstone stating that they were buried here, didn't mean they were actually dead; my own was proof of that. I debated internally if I should get a shovel and dig their graves up myself.

I sighed, and shook my head to clear it. I needed to think before I started committing felonies. I turned away from my brothers graves, and instead turned to my own:

_Elizabeth Alessandra Salvatore_

_1849-1864_

_"I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid." John 14:27_

I stared at the grave where my "Body" was lying beneath. I wondered how my father managed to pull it off, along with Damon and Stefan's. My heart lurched at the thought that maybe he didn't need to hide the fact that he didn't have their bodies.

Abruptly, I turned away from the graves, my feet moving on their own. Soon I was running with abnormal speed back to my car, tears threatening to spill over.

I slid into the driver's side, and drove in the direction of where the town used to be, turning on the radio in hopes of distracting myself. Soon, I was in the center of town, watching as innocent people walked by with shopping bags in their hands, totally oblivious that a 161 year-old vampire had just stumbled into their town, mourning her brothers' deaths.

I looked peered around the stores, until I found what I needed, and pulled into the parking lot of the Mystic Grill. I needed alcohol- the best drink in the world next to blood and root beer.

I got out of the car, after looking at my reflection in the visor mirror. I straightened out my clothes and flattened my long hair, before I pulled my purse onto my shoulder, and made my way into the Grill.

It was noisy with people and yelling and music, as I made my way to the bar where only one other guy was sitting. I couldn't see his face, but he had a nice body.

The bartender walked over to me as I sat my purse on the stool next to me.

"What can I get 'cha?" he asked, cleaning out a glass.

"A glass of Rum, please." I said, digging in my purse for my wallet.

He raised his eyebrows at me. "Can I see some I.D please?' he said in a tone that made it clear there was no way he thought I was 21.

I looked into his eyes, and said, "You don't need to." not breaking eye contact.

He repeated, "I don't need to," back to me, before going to get my drink.

I pulled out my wallet, and took out a wad of bills. I didn't necessarily like to use compulsion, but it was very useful.

I handed him a crisp bill, as he handed me my glass, which I took a long sip out of. I smiled serenely as the drink calmed down the thirst that was always within me, though it was sometimes hidden or diluted.

The guy, who was sitting a few stools way from me, looked up and stared at me.

"How'd you get Dave to serve you alcohol? I've spent two years trying to get him to, and you do it on the first try." he said in a bewildered voice.

I smiled at the cute boy. He had a cute face and the kind of hair that looked like he just rolled out of bed, but that guys usually spent hours trying to maintain. I usually didn't get involved with humans, but that didn't mean I didn't recognize a hot boy when he was right in front of me.

"Well, I can be very persuasive when I want to be." I said, not totally lying. Then I held out my hand.

"I'm Elizabeth. And you would be?"

He stared at my hand for what could have been decades, before finally grasping it. His hand felt warm against mine, and I could hear the soft thudding of his heart.

"Jeremy." he said, letting go of my hand.

I smiled warmly at him, my friendly and bubbly nature taking over. "How long have you lived in Mystic Falls?" I asked, as he drained the rest of his drink.

"My whole life" he muttered into his glass. I got the sense that Jeremy wasn't a people person, but I wasn't one to be swayed easily.

"Oh, that's nice. I've lived here before. Might even say I grew up here. It's nice to be back."

Jeremy raised his eyebrows at me. "You grew up here?" he asked. I knew that he thought I was lying since in a small town like Mystic Falls, everybody knew everybody.

"In a way…" I said vaguely, sipping my drink.

Just then, a familiar girl walked into the bar.

"Jeremy! There you are!" she said, as she hurried over to Jeremy.

My heart skipped a beat, as I stared at the beautiful girl.

"Katherine." I muttered, my gaze not leaving the bitch's figure.

"Katherine? No, that's Elena, my sister." Jeremy said, staring at me, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Elena?' I said, more to myself than to him. No way, that wasn't Katherine. It wasn't possible.

She was getting closer to us, I decided not to risk it, and I drained my glass, before I was out of my seat and half way to the door. I wasn't paying attention in my urge to distance myself as far away from "Katherine" as possible, and I accidentally bumped into someone.

"Sorry." I muttered, not bothering to look at the guy, though I felt his gaze on me. If I had been paying attention, I would have sensed that he was a vampire.

I walked out of the bar and into the night, not heading to my car, but walking down the streets of Mystic Falls and into the fast approaching night. Katherine was here. That changed everything.

As I walked down an alley, I suddenly felt myself being thrown into the wall.

Total vampire instinct took over, and I fought back. I jumped up, and ran at my attacker. I didn't pay attention to who the vampire was, or I wouldn't have attacked.

_Stefan_

He followed Elena into the Mystic Grill, to find her brother. Jeremy had been going through a rough time since Anna had died. Though, he thought she had left town, since Damon had compelled him to forget, just like with Vikki.

He felt someone bump into his side, and le looked over to see the retreating figure of a girl, around the age of fifteen.

"Sorry." she muttered, before disappearing behind the doors of the grill.

She looked familiar, and in a part of his mind, he registered her as a vampire.

He ignored his thoughts, and walked over to where Elena was talking to her brother.

"I'm _fine__,_Elena." Jeremy hissed, glaring at his sister.

"How come you keep saying that, but I have yet to believe you?" Elena retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jeremy ignored his sister, and turned to look at an empty stool with an empty glass in front of it.

"I wonder where that girl went." he said aloud, echoing his thoughts.

"What girl?" Stefan and Elena asked at the same time.

"There was a girl. She was hot, but weird, and she talked too much." he said, and then looked at his sister.

"She saw you coming, called you Katherine, and then left. She's stranger than I thought."

Stefan automatically tensed. The girl was a vampire, one who knew Katherine.

Stefan looked down at his girlfriend. "I better go check it out." he whispered so that Jeremy wouldn't hear.

"I'll go with you." Elena answered, leaving her brother to follow Stefan out the doors of Mystic Falls.

Stefan didn't like the thought of Elena being near a possibly dangerous vampire, but knew arguing wouldn't sway his stubborn girlfriend, so he stayed silent.

Stefan walked down the streets of Mystic Falls, following the scent of the vampire, Elena running to catch up with him.

He turned down an alley, when he saw her. Stefan ran at the girl and through her against the alley wall, where she crumpled to the ground. What had to be less than a second, she was on her feet, and glaring at Stefan. She ran at him, and threw him down the alley. She couldn't be any older than him, but she was stronger, since she drank human blood.

Stefan jumped up as the girl ran at him again, but he dodged her and pinned her against a wall. She kicked him in the stomach and sent him flying down the alley, just as Elena appeared in the alley.

"Katherine." the girl hissed in a familiar voice, and ran at Elena, who screamed.

_Elizabeth_

I kicked my attacker down the alley, just as Katherine appeared. My anger was surging, and I had no control over the monster inside me.

"Katherine." I hissed, glaring at the girl who ruined my life.

I ran at her, and she screamed, as I grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall.

Suddenly, I heard the rapid thudding of her heart, and I realized she was human. My eyes widened at the terrified girl in front of me. How was that possible?

Suddenly, I was thrown off Katherine, and into a wall, as my attacker, grabbed me around the throat and slammed me into the wall.

"Who are you?" he yelled in a familiar voice, glaring at me.

I finally took in his appearance, and my eyes widened, as I stared at him.

"Stefan?" I whispered, looking up at his familiar face I thought I'd never see again.

Suddenly, Stefan released me, and stepped away.

"Elizabeth." he whispered, taking in my appearance.

I smiled at my older brother, as he took in my ripped dress and messed up hair.

"You know Stef, this was my favorite dress." I said casually to my brother, whom I haven't seen in over a century.

Suddenly, I was in Stefan's arms, as he hugged me tightly. I returned his embrace just as hard.

"Stefan, what's going on?" said the girl who looked like Katherine.

Stefan pulled away from me, and turned to face her, a smile lighting up his face.

"Elena, I'd like you to meet Elizabeth Salvatore, my little sister."


	3. the Salvatore siblings

**Chapter two**

The Salvatore siblings

_Elizabeth_

"Elena" stared wide eyed at us, clearly unaware that Stefan had a sister. Well, I was unaware that he had a girlfriend who was the doppelganger of his evil hag-like ex-girlfriend who managed to ruin all three of the Salvatores' lives in only a few months.

I walked up to Elena and held out my hand to her, and smiled widely.

"I'm Elizabeth, but you can call me Ellie." I said, and Elena took it, and shook it, still thawing from the shock.

"Oh, and I'm sorry about the whole almost killing you thing." I added, as Elena let my hand go.

"It's okay, you're not the first vampire to mistake me for Katherine." she said kindly, proving within seconds that she was the opposite of evil, manipulating, using Katherine.

"And I probably won't be the last." I said, staring at her. I swear to God, if Elena wasn't human they'd be the same person.

Elena was staring back at me with the same expression of confusion and shock.

"I had no idea that Stefan had a sister." she said, and I gave her a wry smile.

"Aw, don't you talk about me too much, Stef. You'll embarrass me." I told him sarcastically, before turning back to Elena.

"Well, in his defense, he thought I was dead, or, well, dead again." I added the last part, since I was technically already dead.

"Since when?" she asked.

"Since 1864. I was captured during the vampire round ups, daddy dearest made sure of that." I said the last part bitterly, and Stefan squeezed my shoulder empathetically.

Elena just continued to stare at me, before finally saying, "You look a lot like Damon."

This was true; we had the same ice blue eyes and jet black hair and nose, but I looked like Stefan too if you looked hard enough.

Elena's statement triggered something in my mind.

"Damon!" I exclaimed, turning to face Stefan. "Is he here?"

Stefan looked suddenly uncomfortable. "Yes, but-"

"Where is he?" I demanded, cutting him off.

"The Salvatore boarding house. We both live there. But Ellie, just listen to me, Damon isn't the-"

But I wasn't listening.

I had already waved goodbye at Elena, and started running in the direction of the houses. I didn't know where the Salvatore Boarding house was, but if it was in Mystic Falls, I'd find it.

I ran all through the neighborhoods, looking for a sign or something that labeled a house as the Salvatore boarding house. Ten minutes later, I found it.

It was big, and there were lights on inside the house. Damon was home. I felt butterflies in my stomach from all the anticipation, and the giant grin that I had on my face since I found Stefan was bigger than ever as I ran into the Salvatore house.

Damon was in the kitchen drinking a glass of blood. I stood staring at him through the archway from the living room. His back was to me, but I knew he sensed somebody, because he spoke up the moment I settled down on the arm of the couch.

"Back so soon, little brother? I thought you and your girlfriend were planning to fix her druggie brother tonight."

Damon looked the same way he did back in 1864; the only difference was that his black hair was shorter and straighter.

I finally found my words as I looked at my oldest brother for the first time in over century.

"Wrong sibling, Damon."

Damon was standing feet from me before I could blink. He was staring at me like Stefan had before; full of disbelief, shock, confusion, and awe.

"Lizzie?" he breathed, as I jumped into his arms and hugged him tight.

"It's Elizabeth, Damon, or Ellie. Lizzie makes me sound like I'm five." I told him for what had to be the millionth time, though the rest of them were back in the 1800's.

"You're dead." Damon said, shaking his head as if I was an illusion and I would disappear. He pulled out of my hug and stepped away from me.

"I'm pretty sure that's the whole point of being a vampire, Damon. Being undead. Key word, 'un.'" I said sarcastically.

Damon continued staring at me like I was a zombie.

I sighed. "God, death has made you slow. Here's a clue: I'm still alive!" I shouted the last part, causing Damon to jump, and I smiled up at him.

"How? You were locked in the tomb. And even if the vampires didn't burn, when I opened the tomb, you weren't there." Damon babbled, causing me to frown.

"Now I'm confused. I think we're going to have to swap stories, because the last time I saw you and Stefan, you two were on the ground, shot dead." I mentally shuddered, remembering the memory that followed me the past hundred years.

And suddenly, Damon hugged me, finally getting the point that I was still alive, and not a figment of his imagination. I laughed, and hugged my big brother back.

I finally had my family back.

Suddenly, as I pulled away from Damon, I heard someone run into the room, and turned around to see Stefan. I smiled warmly at him.

"Did you bring Elena home?" I asked him.

"Yeah. She wants you to come over tomorrow; to get to know you better." he responded, looking at Damon out of the corner of his eye.

I smiled absentmindedly. "That's nice. I like her. She's not like Katherine at all." I spoke to no one in particular.

I looked up at my big brothers, who were having a silent conversation, when I saw it. Damon's smirk; his eyes like ice when he looked at Stefan. And Stefan's jaw set, his muscles tensed as he looked back at Damon. The reality hit me like ice cold water being dumped over me.

"You two are morons."

My words caused Stefan and Damon to come out of their little conversation and look at me, giant question marks on their faces.

I glared back at them, anger boiling inside of me. Though, I wasn't angry at them; it was Katherine, stupid, bitchy, malicious Katherine. Even though she was gone, she still managed to make my life hell, to ruin the perfect picture of how my life would be once I found my brothers.

"I can't believe you two let Katherine kill our family. You two are complete and total morons." I said, before I ran out of the house.

I knew that when I imagined this day, that everything wouldn't be exactly like it was back in 1864. There was no way it could ever be like that ever again. Though, I never imagined that it would be as bad as this; that my brothers, who were best friends, would turn on each other. All because of Katherine. If it was even possible, I loathed her more at that moment.

I ran back to my car, where it sat all alone on the empty street. It was almost nine 0'clock, and most stores would be closed. One of the few still open was the Grill.

I sighed, and sat down on the hood of my car, and leaned against the windshield. What would I do? I couldn't leave my brothers, especially so soon after I found out they were alive all along. But I couldn't live with them, when they hated each other so much, and for such a stupid reason.

I sighed again, and closed my eyes. I had no idea what I'd do now.

A few minutes later, I heard fast footsteps that I knew belonged to a vampire, and a few seconds later, I sensed someone standing in front of me, and I opened my eyes to see Stefan.

I closed them again, and I heard Stefan sigh. Then he sat down next to me, and bumped my shoulder. Being the child I am, I turned away from him, and pulled my knees up to my chin.

"Come on, Elizabeth. Talk to me." Stefan said, pushing my shoulder again.

I stayed silent, knowing that I was being very immature.

Stefan sighed again. "I know how this must suck for you. For over a hundred years you thought that Damon and I were dead, and once you found out that we weren't you found out that we hate each other. And I'm sorry for that."

I stayed silent, though my eyes widened; that was exactly how I felt.

"I just want you to know that it was Damon who started it. In the beginning, I thought that we would go through the whole vampire thing together, especially since we thought that you were dead. But he told me that he would spend the rest of eternity making my life hell, and up until know, he'd been living up to that."

I turned to face Stefan, and asked, "Why'd he promise you that?" though I already knew the answer.

"Because in his mind, I killed Katherine. And he blamed me for you too."

"Why? It wasn't your fault!" I exclaimed.

Stefan shrugged. "It didn't matter. But it's okay, I blamed myself too. Just like I blamed Damon, and he also blamed himself."

My eyebrows furrowed. I was lost. "What?"

Stefan smiled softly at me. "You're our little sister, and we'd been keeping you safe for fifteen years. We both blamed ourselves for your death, and we blamed each other too. Though, even that wasn't the true reason why Damon hates me."

"What is it then?" I asked, wondering if it was even possible.

"He told me a couple of months ago. It's because Katherine was supposed to change only him." Stefan said softly, waiting for my reaction.

I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes. There were so many things wrong with that reason that it made my head hurt.

"Why do you hate him?"

I opened my eyes, and saw Stefan raise his eyebrows at my question.

"What?" he asked surprised.

"Why do you hate Damon?" I repeated, not taking my eyes off him.

Stefan stood silent for a few moments. "I don't really." he said finally. "I just don't trust him anymore, and I truly do think he's a monster."

I nodded, expecting that answer, but it still hurt to see that my brothers' near perfect relationship was destroyed.

"Is he still in love with Katherine?" I asked.

"He thinks he is." Stefan answered.

"Are you?" I asked. Even though Stefan was dating Elena, she was her look-alike, and you never knew.

Stefan smiled wryly and shook his head. "I know the truth, Lizzie." he said softly. "Katherine used both of us, and I never really loved her."

I smiled, content with the knowledge that at least one of my brothers wasn't hung up over the lying bitch from hell.

My smile faltered when I thought about Elena. "Then what about Elena-?" I asked.

Stefan stared at me with that calm, trusting look, and I was glad that some things didn't change. "You know as well as I do that Elena and Katherine are polar opposites. I don't love Elena because she looks like Katherine; I love her because she's sweet, kind, selfless, loyal, and loving. The opposite of Katherine." I saw true love in Stefan's eyes, and my smile returned.

"That's good." I said, standing up. Stefan frowned at me.

"You're not leaving are you?" Stefan asked, sounding desperate. I grinned at him.

"'Course not, big brother. We have so much to catch up on, and I have a relationship to fix." I told him, as I dug through my purse for my car keys.

Stefan's frown grew deeper. "Elizabeth-" he started to say, and then I cut him off, frowning too.

"Don't you dare tell me not to try to fix my brothers' horrible relationship, Stefan Salvatore. I'll do whatever I damn well please to do, even if it is what you call 'meddling.' besides, maybe what you two needed all along was a neutral party to help you sort out your differences, and I'm that. I love you two both, I don't take sides, and I tell you both off when one of you gets out of line- which is usually Damon. Hell, I'm Switzerland." I said, finding my keys, and smirking up at my brother.

"By the time I get through with you two, you'll be closer than ever." I told him, as I opened my car door, and Stefan opened the passenger one.

He looked disbelieving at my words. You'd think that after growing up with me, he'd learn to never doubt Elizabeth Salvatore.

Well, I'd soon prove him wrong.

**A/N: **I will be updating like crazy this week, while posting new stories and one shots. It's my winter break, and I have a lot of stories to transfer on to here. So enjoy:)

Thank you vdemily and funnygirlash101 for my first reviews on this site. Reviews really do inspire a writer to write, just so you know;)

Like always, reviews are appreciated!


	4. memories

**Chapter three**

Memories

_Elizabeth_

_1857_

_Tears falling from my blue eyes, I ran away from the mocking and jeering crowd as fast as a crying seven year old could run_

_My long black hair was in pony tails, and my blue dress was already covered in dirt and mud. To my mother's annoyance, I was already turning into a tom boy. Instead of wearing pretty pink dresses, having tea parties, and playing with dolls, I climbed trees, played in mud pits, and went on adventures in the woods. She could blame my big brothers for that._

"_Damon! Stefan!" I blubbered, running to my brothers, who were horsing around in our yard._

_As soon as they saw my tears, Damon and Stefan instantly sobered, and Damon opened his arms for me to run into._

_I buried my head in the 14 year olds shoulder, shaking with tears. "What happened, Lizzie?" Stefan asked. Even at nine, he was still the sensitive and caring brother, while Damon was the one who would start fights if anyone just looked at his younger siblings the wrong way._

"_T-they called me a b-baby, and a wh-whiny little b-bitch, and stole my t-teddy." I blubbered. But then I looked up curiously at Damon. "What's a w-whiny little bitch, Damon?" I asked, hiccupping._

_Damon didn't answer, but his face darkened. He looked at Stefan, who after a second of hesitation, nodded._

_Damon put me down, and, ignoring the wet spot on his shoulder, set off towards town, with Stefan at his side._

"_W-where are you going?" I hiccupped, following them. I finally stopped crying, but my eyes and nose were red._

"_Stay here, Lizzie." Stefan said, but I kept walking after them, my bare feet sinking in the wet ground. It had rained last night._

"_Where are you going?" I repeated. Even at seven, I was stubborn as hell._

"_We'll be right back." Damon reassured me, but that dark look never left his face._

_Suddenly, I caught on. "No! Damon, Daddy said that if you get in another fight, you'll get into big trouble!" I looked at Stefan, he was always trying to get Damon to control his temper. "Stef, please?"_

_But Stefan looked determined. "Go back to the house, Elizabeth. We'll be back in five minutes." Using my real name meant he was serious._

_I stopped walking, hoping that they didn't get in trouble, or worse, hurt. I bit my lip, as they disappeared down the road. After I was sure that they couldn't see me, I cut through the trees, careful not to step on sticks and stones, and hurt myself._

_A few minutes later, with my messy hair full of leaves and sticks, I stopped at the break in the trees. A few yards away, there a group of boys, with young girls around Damon's age surrounding them. There were about five boys, all around different ages, and I recognized Alexander and his older brother Samuel among them. Alexander looked unsure and guilty- even at eight, he was developing a crush on me. But Samuel had a smirk on his lips, and a haughty look on his face, as Damon glared at him. Samuel was 14, and he and Damon got into fights a lot. I bet he and his friends picked on me just to get to him._

"_Give it back, Samuel." Damon growled, as Stefan held him slightly back._

"_What, Salvatore? Oh, you mean this?" he laughed, and pulled my teddy out from behind his back._

"_Yeah, we took this from your whiny little sister." He drawled, and I narrowed my eyes at him. "Don't tell me she sent her loser big brothers to defend her?" he laughed coldly._

_Suddenly, Damon broke free, and launched himself at Samuel, causing the girls to scream, and his group of friends to turn on Stefan. But instead of running, Stefan followed his big brother's lead, and punched David Forbes in the jaw._

"_Hey!" I said, running out of the forest, and jumping on David's back. I pulled on his hair hard, and he swore in pain, before throwing me off. I yelped, as I landed on my leg._

_Damon, hearing my yelp of pain, kicked Samuel off of him, and turned on David. Stefan came over to me, bleeding from his nose. He looked down at my bleeding knee. "Are you okay, Lizzie?" he asked._

_I shook my head, and flinched as I touched my left leg. "It hurts, Stefan." I whimpered._

"_What's going on here?"_

_Everyone looked up, as Giuseppe Salvatore and Joseph Fell approached the fighting group. Daddy narrowed his eyes, as his oldest son took on five boys at once, and his younger children sat on the side lines, clearly injured._

_Damon stopped fighting, and looked up at Daddy, his blue eyes widening. I bit my lip- Daddy wasn't very nice to Damon, and always yelled at him._

"_My children, come with me. Joseph, you can deal with your own." Daddy said, not even looking at us._

_Damon walked over to Stefan and I, looking bloody and battered. But still, he knelt down next to me, and asked Stefan, "How's your nose?"_

"_Been better." He grimaced, as he touched it._

"_You have one hell of a right hook." He grinned, as he turned to me. "Can you walk?"_

_I shook my head, and Damon picked me up, careful not to touch my injured leg. "I told you we were going to get in trouble." I muttered, as we slowly followed Daddy._

_He shot me a look, and I grinned, as Stefan appeared on Damon's right side, holding a ratty old teddy bear. "Here you go, Lizzie." He said, giving it to me._

_I grinned, and snuggled into the small bear. I didn't realize it at seven, but my brothers got into a big fight, just to get me my teddy back._

_I loved them._

"'I like it like that!

Hey, window's down,

Chilin with the radio on,

I like it like that!

Damn, the sun's so hot,

Make the girls take it all off,

I like it like that!

Yeah, one more time,

I can never get enough of everybody,

Sing it right back,

I like it like that!'" I sang loud and clear to my I-phone, while jumping on my bed.

"Lizzie, shut the hell up!"

I pulled my ear buds out, and glared at Damon. "Kill joy." I muttered, landing on my bed.

When I looked up at him, I remembered fourteen year old Damon, telling a nine year old Stefan that he had a hell of a right hook. I smiled bitterly to myself, as I turned off my music.

"It's nice to know that you're still tone-deaf." He smirked, and I glared playfully.

"Well, it's to know that you're still a jackass." I smirked back.

"Touché." He said, and I laughed, getting off my bed.

I had put my belongings in my assigned bedroom, the one with the biggest closet. Tomboy or not, I liked collecting clothes.

"So, what are we doing today?" I asked, shrugging on a leather jacket from the 50's.

Damon raised an eyebrow at me, as we walked out of my room. "You're 161 years old- do I really need to babysit you?"

I pushed him. "No, but I just figured that you might want to hang out with your sister who you believed to be dead for 146 years. Apparently I would be wrong."

"Not to mention your hidden agenda of fixing Stefan and me." He gave me a look, as if he knew my entire plan.

"So you guys _are _talking." I smirked, brushing my black hair out of my face.

Damon rolled his blue eyes at me. "I'll buy you lunch if you stop acting like a smartass for five minutes." He said, grabbing his keys.

"Deal." I grinned. "But you shouldn't be talking, Damon. I get my sarcastic, smart ass attitude from my oldest brother." I smirked at him again, then ran away and laughed, as he threw a pillow at me.

_1863_

_At fourteen years old, I was just starting to grow into a beautiful young woman. There were traces of her in my face, but when I looked in a mirror, all I saw was a goofy little girl, stuck in the awkward stage of growing up._

"_Ellie!" Martha Fell chased after me, as I walked home from school. She was Alexander's cousin, and we talked sometimes, but I found her constant gossiping, and belief that all girls should become well-behaved homemakers annoying. My brothers had drilled into my head that I could do absolutely anything I set my mind to, not just what society had planned for me._

"_Hello, Martha." I smiled politely, hugging my books to my undeveloped chest._

_Martha had dirt colored hair and eyes. She wasn't ugly, really, just very short, and slightly chubby, with a nose not very proportional to the rest of her face._

"_Guess what Alexander told me last night." She smiled importantly, as I pushed my dark hair out of my face. _

_Alexander was turning into one of the most sought after young men in Mystic Falls, along with my brothers. Though, I had to be the only girl in town who didn't want to be Mrs. Alexander Fell. In fact, I was thinking about never getting married. I wanted a career of my own, not just be a wife and raise a thousand children._

"_What?" I asked, feigning interest. It was ironic, really. I had no interest in Alexander, yet I seemed to be the only girl in the world that he wanted._

"_He's going to ask you to the Founder's Ball tomorrow." She squealed, then frowned at my lack of reaction._

"_I don't think I'm going. Stefan and Damon were talking of going to the next town over. I might join them." I twirled a lock of hair around my finger._

_Martha stared at me like I was crazy. "You can't just not go, Ellie! My mother told me that this is where all the good men look for future wives."_

_I sighed. "I'm fourteen, Martha. I don't have to think about marriage right now."_

"_Arielle McKenzie is only four years older than us- she got married last week." She pointed out._

"_Yes, but Arielle was a floosy. I found her kissing Damon only a few months before the wedding." I said loudly._

"_Shush! If people found that out, Arielle's marriage would be ruined before it started." Martha glared, and I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything._

"_So, would you go if Alexander asked you?" Martha said, getting back to the main topic._

_I sighed, preparing myself for Martha to start spreading rumors that I was going to die an old maid, when someone answered for me._

"_Absolutely not."_

_I looked up to see Damon looking at Martha like she was mad for suggesting an idea. Stefan was behind him, wearing a similar expression._

_I grinned at my big brothers. "You heard them, Martha. I have to go." I bid her goodbye, and dragged my brothers away from her, noticing a look on her face, similar to a starving fox might have, watching two plump chickens._

"_Did Alexander Fell ask you out?" Damon demanded, as soon as we were away from Martha._

"_No, but he's been after me since I was eight and he was nine- it's no secret he wants my hand, Damon." I rolled my eyes, then froze, realizing I just set off my brothers._

"_You're fourteen, Elizabeth! You're not getting married!" Stefan exclaimed, Damon looking like he might kill._

_Instead of calming down my brothers, I narrowed my eyes at them. "I'll marry whoever I damn well please to." I said defiantly. I wasn't one to be told what to do._

_I marched away from my brothers, anger flooding through my veins. Who were they to tell me what to do, and what not to do?_

_I was so lost in my anger, I walked right into somebody._

"_I am so sorry." I said, immediately backing away. I looked up at the person I ran into, and saw a very attractive man, around Damon's age. He smiled at me, his blue eyes running down my body._

"_No harm done." He said, in a British accent. There was something about him, something like a magnet that attracted me to him like a moth to a flame. I couldn't move._

"_Elizabeth!"_

_I turned around to see my brothers running after me, then looked back at the mysterious British man. But he was gone._

"So, Alexander Fell saved you from the tomb?" Damon asked, after I explained to him how I escaped in 1864.

I nodded. "He really did love me." I murmured to myself.

Damon had a look on his face like he swallowed something nasty. "He was a tool." He muttered.

"You only say that, because you hated his brother, and you and Stefan were way too protective of me." I said, sipping my root beer.

"We were not." Damon argued.

"Please, you two were so smothering, I almost suffocated to death." I retorted, and he rolled his eyes. I could only hope that a century changed that. It probably didn't.

"Lizzie, how'd you become a vampire?"

I looked up, startled by his question.

"Who changed you?" he asked, looking thoughtful.

I shrugged. "I don't know." I lied.

He narrowed his eyes at me, like he could see right through my lie. I didn't meet his eyes, as I stirred my root beer.

"It's a really long story." I said, after a long minute of silence.

"We're vampires- we have eternity." He said bluntly, not taking his eyes off of me.

I sighed. "I-I just can't tell you Damon." I said, aggravated, finally meeting his eyes.

Damon's eyes widened, as he realized something. "Did Katherine-?"

"Yeah, that evil bitch changed me." I nodded, sighing in relief. But Damon just kept staring at me.

"What?" I asked, munching on some fries.

"It's just- you're hiding something from me." He said.

I sighed, annoyed. "No, I'm not. Katherine changed me!" I exclaimed.

"Elizabeth, you might be able to lie to everyone else, but if there's one person on this planet who can read you like a book, it's me." He said, narrowing his eyes.

I bit my lip. "If I told you, it would change everything." I muttered, before standing up.

Damon sighed. "Lizzie, don't leave."

But I was already out of the bar.

I knew that I would have to tell my brothers everything soon. But I was scared. Scared that they would look at me differently, once they found out my most painful and well-hidden secret. Katherine didn't change me.

But someone just like her did.

**A/N: **thank you vdemily for reviewing _again. _Reviews inspire me to update!

The song Elizabeth was singing is I like It Like That by Hot Chelle Rae.


	5. back to school

**Chapter four**

Back to school

_Elizabeth_

I had stayed in my room the entire night, hiding from Damon. He didn't come in at all through the night. I was glad, because I didn't have an excuse for the way I acted. I didn't realize I had fallen asleep, until I was being shaken awake.

"I'm awake, I'm awake." I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. I looked up at Stefan, trying to see in his face if Damon told him anything. I couldn't tell.

"Do you have any interest in going to school, Lizzie?" Stefan asked, as I stretched.

"I guess I have to. To keep up appearances." I grimaced, but still got out of bed. "Give me ten minutes." I told him.

I changed out of my wrinkled clothes into ripped skinny jeans, a white corset top, and a black leather jacket. I curled my hair quickly, slightly excited for school. It was hard sometimes, blending in with humans, but when you lived forever, there wasn't much to do. I spoke English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and knew some pretty good curse words in Russian. I had a couple master degrees in phycology and English, not to mention, I'm a certified bartender. Sometimes, vampires just learn things to kill time.

Damon wasn't downstairs as I came down. Stefan was waiting for me, and raised his eyebrows at my outfit.

"That's a really revealing outfit." Stefan said, narrowing his eyes.

I rolled mine. "You can see half an inch of my stomach and my shoulders. That's why I'm wearing a jacket."

"It's still revealing." He said, and I knew he wanted me to change.

I sighed. "I'm not changing Stefan. Can we just go?" I whined.

"Elizabeth-"

"Listen Dad, I'm a big girl. I can wear slightly revealing shirts every once in a while. Just face it, little Lizzie isn't so little anymore." I smirked as I walked out of the house. Stefan sighed, exasperated, before following me.

"You're something else, you know that?" he said, shutting the front door.

"It's part of my charm."

When we pulled into the school parking lot, I got out of the car, and swung my backpack onto my shoulders. I waited for Stefan, before walking towards school.

I got looks- from boys and girls- as I walked silently at Stefan's side. There were whispers, and it occurred to me how small Mystic Falls was, that they noticed a new student just as she was walking onto campus.

"Hey." Elena walked up to Stefan, smiled, and kissed him softly. Once she pulled away, she smiled at me and said, "Hey Ellie."

"Hi Elena." I smiled back, as she entwined her fingers with Stefan.

"I like you're shirt." She said, as we walked into the school.

I turned to Stefan and smirked. "See, Elena likes it!"

He rolled his eyes, and Elena raised an eyebrow, as I turned towards the main office. I waved goodbye to them, before pulling open the office door.

"Can I help you?" the kind office lady asked as I walked up to her.

"Yeah, I need to register for school." I said, pushing a dark lock behind my ear.

"Okay, do you have your school transcripts?" she asked, turning to her computer.

"No I do not." I said, looking at chipped black polish on my nails.

"Any shot records?"

"Nope."

"Birth certificate?"

"Nada."

"Sweetie, you need that to go to school here." The middle aged turned to look at me, her brown eyes kind.

"I think you can make it work." I said, focusing in on her eyes.

"I can make it work." She murmured. When I looked away, she blinked a couple times, looking dazed.

I smiled sweetly, as she typed for a few minutes, then handed me a schedule.

"Thank you for being so flexible." I said, walking away.

"Have a good day, Miss Salvatore." She said, still looking unsure.

I smiled again, then turned my back on her and walked into the halls. I noticed a blonde girl and a curly haired black girl watching me, eyes narrowed. I raised an eyebrow, before walking to my new locker.

First period, I had Biology with Mr. Kelp. When I walked into the classroom, I handed him a form for him to sign, then waited to be assigned a seat.

"Welcome to Mystic Falls, Miss Salvatore." He said, handing me the form back.

"Where do I sit?" I asked, ignoring the stares I got from people overhearing I was a Salvatore.

"Hmm, how about next to Mister Gilbert. You can be his partner this quarter. He could use all the help he could get." I nodded, and then walked into the back, sitting down next to the boy- Jeremy- from the Grill two days ago.

"Hey." I smiled, setting down my books.

Jeremy turned to look at me, rolled his eyes, and then went back to ruining his text book.

I frowned at him. Were all humans this rude?

I decided I wouldn't let it go. "Nice to see you again." I said, as the bell rang.

Jeremy didn't respond, and he was starting to piss me off. I get it, he's not a people person, but if someone says hi, you don't ignore them.

"Well, aren't we just a bucket full of sunshine." I said sarcastically, taking out a notebook. It had been about thirty years since I took a bio class, and it would be nice to refresh my memory.

Jeremy raised his eyebrows, but didn't respond. I sighed, "Are you mute or something?" I snapped.

"Wouldn't you feel bad if I was." he said, smirking slightly. I laughed slightly.

"Mister Gilbert and Miss Salvatore- would you care to share what's so funny?"

We both looked up to see Mr. Kelp and the class staring at us. I bit my lip, as Jeremy's smirk widened.

"No, sir."

"Yeah, how obvious your wig is."

The class laughed, Mr. Kelp glared at Jeremy while clutching the faux hair on his head. I stared disbelievingly at my partner, who was smirking.

"Mister Gilbert, principal's office. Now." The teacher growled. Jeremy left the classroom silently, while I wondered what happened to that poor, heartbroken boy.

After being alive almost two centuries, I got pretty good at reading humans. And as I walked to lunch alone, I kept thinking about how hurt and broken Jeremy looked in his brown eyes.

"Hey, Stefan." I smiled, sitting down next to my big brother, a root beer in my hand.

I smiled at Elena, before opening the delicious drink that was my third favorite beverage- right after blood and alcohol.

Just then, the two girls from that morning sat down across from us. I frowned at them, and that's when Elena chose to introduce us.

"Ellie, this is Caroline Forbes and Bonnie Bennett. Guys, this is Elizabeth Salvatore, Stefan's younger sister."

I smiled at them, but Caroline looked confused, and asked, "Wait, is she a vampire too?"

My eyebrows shot up. "They know?" I gave Stefan a look. The less people who know about us, the better, especially with this town's history.

"Bonnie's a witch, and Caroline's a vampire." Elena explained.

I relaxed. "Oh, that's okay then." Suddenly, I remembered Bonnie's last name. "Bennett? You're not related to Emily?"

Bonnie nodded, her curls bouncing. "She's my ancestor."

"Well, if you're half the witch she was, you should be a pretty good one." I said bluntly, and then stood up. "Excuse me; I have a craving for some pickles."

I walked away, towards the lunch line. There were vampires, witches, and doppelgangers in this town. What was next?

I bought a cheeseburger with extra pickles, and more root beer, and then walked back to my table. I passed the jock table, and had a tall boy with tan skin who reminded me of Franklin Lockwood- one of Stefan's old school friends- whistle at me.

I looked at him, he was definitely hot. But the last man to whistle at me, it didn't end well. I flinched slightly, and walked away quickly. Even thinking about him, after a hundred and forty-six years, still made me feel like my heart had just shattered.

I took a deep breath, and focused my thoughts on the humans around me, to keep from thinking about that evil, heartbreaking dick. I picked up on a conversation on the other side of the cafeteria. Two boys were talking about drugs, and one- a cute, familiar one- was giving the other pain killers. I doubted that he was actually in pain.

I looked back over at Stefan and Elena, they were alone. The two looked like a cute, human couple, so I decided not to disrupt them, and took my food outside.

The sun was shining high in the sky, and I walked to an oak tree on campus for shade. I leaned against the trunk, and ate my lunch, humming random lyrics to random songs to distract myself from him. He was like a god damn disease. Once I thought about him- just a tiny little thought, usually bad- I couldn't stop thinking about him.

"'well, I'm not sure what this is gonna be,

But with my eyes closed all I see,

Is the skyline, through the window,

The moon above you and streets below,

Hold my breath as you're moving in,

Taste your lips and feel your skin,

When the time comes, baby don't run,

Just kiss me slowly.'" I sang softly to myself, closing my eyes.

_1864_

_I was at one of the many founder's balls- this time, a masquerade. It was a few months before Katherine showed up, and Damon would be heading off to war a few weeks later. I was so scared he would return in a coffin, I was considering getting father to pay another man to go serve for him, but then I would be called a traitor._

"_Lizzie, don't look so sad." Damon sighed, as I flipped through dresses in my closet. I had grown up so much that year. I looked less like an awkward little girl, and more like the beautiful young woman my father swore I was._

_I didn't reply, and my hands stopped at a beautiful bright blue dress. It was so unlike anything I owned, and anything any girl in this town owned. I would stand out, and be the talk of the party. Women would say how low cut the dress was, and men would talk about how good I looked in it. My father would yell at me for making the family look bad. I took the dress out of the closet, and set it on my bed._

"_This will be our last chance in a while to disgrace the founding families, Lizzie. Let's not waste it." He continued, and I smiled slightly._

"_Don't call me Lizzie. I sound like a child." I said, smoothing down the dress._

"_You will always be a child to me." He grinned, as I frowned at him._

"_No wonder I haven't 'matured as fast as other girls,' as father says. How could I grow up, with you and Stefan treating me like I'm five?" I frowned._

"_Lizzie, even if Stefan and I treated you like a newborn, it wouldn't stop you from growing up. Look," he pointed at my mirror. "You're not a child anymore. You're almost a woman. Soon, you'll be getting married, and having your own family." Damon grimaced, as if the idea of me growing up was eating him alive._

_I frowned at the dirt under my nails, from climbing a tree to hide from Father a couple days ago. "I told you, I don't think I want to get married. I find the whole idea of becoming a homemaker degrading." _

_Damon beamed. "Good, please don't. I don't care if my sister is an old maid." _

_I laughed, then shooed him from my room. "Leave, I have to get ready." _

_Damon left, and the house slave, May, appeared to help me with my corset. It took me a few hours, but just as the party started at Lockwood Plantation, I was ready. _

"_Father is going to have a fit when he sees you in that." Stefan said, raising his eyebrows as I descended the stairs. _

"_That was the whole idea." I smirked, then looked around for Damon. "Where is he?"_

_Stefan frowned. "Petunia Forbes came over to thank him for fighting for the confederacy…"_

"_I get the picture." I frowned too. My oldest brother was a bit of a floosy._

"_Shall we?" Stefan said, offering his arm. I smiled and took it._

"_We shall."_

_I enjoyed the stares I got, as Stefan and I entered the party. Even with my blue and black mask on, it didn't take people very long to guess that it was Elizabeth Salvatore in the inappropriate blue dress._

"_Father is going to kill you." Stefan whispered, as I used him as a wall between Father and myself._

"_Says the favorite." I frowned, taking a glass of wine from him. _

"_I'm only the favorite, because you and Damon are the ones who cause all the trouble." He replied, taking his wine back with a frown._

_I smirked, just as the music started playing. My blue eyes widened. "Oh, Stefan, please dance with me!" I begged._

_He shook his head. "You know I hate dancing. Go find Damon, isn't he your lifelong dance partner?"_

_I glared at him, then set off to find my dance partner, lifting my dress up. I got disgusted ones from women, and had men check me out. Alexander's eyes widened from across the room, and Martha's nose wrinkled._

_After ten minutes of searching, I gave up on finding Damon. I sighed- I loved dancing._

"_May I have this dance?"_

_I looked up at the voice I'm sure I heard before, looking up into blue eyes I'm sure I've seen before._

_I cocked my head to side slightly, but replied, "You may."_

_The man led me to the dance floor, and rested his hand on my hip. The more I looked at him, the more I'm sure I've seen him before. _

"_Have we met?" I asked, as the mysterious man spun me around the dance floor._

_He smirked slightly. "I believe we have." He said in that very sexy British accent._

_He didn't explain any further, and I sighed in annoyance. His smirk grew wider, as if he found annoying me amusing._

"_I'm Elizabeth Salvatore." I finally introduced myself, remembering my mother's rules for attracting a possible suitor. She would roll over in her grave if she saw the dress I was wearing._

_He acted like he already knew who I was. The song ended, and he kissed my hand. "You are a very lovely dancer, Miss Salvatore." He said, then added, "I am-"_

"Lizzie?"

I came out of my trip down memory lane, and gazed up at Stefan. "Huh?" I asked.

"Are you getting a ride with me?" he asked, looking a little concerned for my mental health.

"Don't we have two more periods left?" I asked dumbly.

Stefan raised his eyebrows. "Liz, school's over." My eyes widened. Did I really just waste two hours thinking about him.

"Oh, right." I scrambled to my feet. "Let me just get my bag." I walked towards the school, my heart pounding. I can't believe I wasted even more time on him.

"Elizabeth?" Stefan asked, following me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, not meeting his eyes. "I'm fine, just fell asleep. Doesn't matter, this is my sixth time in high school." I laughed nervously.

"Elizabeth… is this about the vampire who changed you?"

I stopped walking, and looked up at my big brother. "So, Damon did talk to you." I whispered. It seemed the only thing that got my brothers talking was me.

Stefan nodded. "I'm not going to push you to tell me, Lizzie, but I'm always here. I get the sense that your story is about as bad Damon's and mine."

I nodded my head. "Slightly worse, because I was very much in love with the bastard who did this to me." Then my eyes widened, when I realized I said too much.

"Come on, I want to get to know Elena some more." I mumbled, walking faster to my locker.

Stefan followed me slowly, but said, "Whenever you want to tell me, Eliza."

I smiled bitterly; he knew I hated being called Eliza more than being called Lizzie.

We walked in silence for a few minutes, before I murmured, "Thank you Stefan."

It was nice to know that Stefan had my back. But would he still be there when he found out my secret?

I could only pray that he would.

**A/N: **that was pretty cruel of me, I have to admit. But I can't spill the big secret in the fourth chapter! Only I and vdemily know the secret, because she helped me work through the bumps of said secret, and fit it into the plot. By the way, the song Elizabeth is singing is Kiss Me Slowly by Parachute.

Thank you to: funnygirlash101, vdemily, and hidansgirl1234 for reviewing!

Reviews make me happy :)


	6. the angel and the devil

**Chapter five**

The angel and the devil

_Elizabeth_

_1937_

_Blood staining my lips, I pulled away from the dead girl in my arms. Feeling nothing, I stared down at the pitiful girl in my arms. She was a lucky one- usually; I like to play with my food before killing it. But I was really hungry when I ran across this nineteen year old, Samantha Wood. I just went for the kill. She barely had time to scream._

_My nose wrinkled, as I pushed her body into an empty alley, in downtown Atlanta. I was thinking about my past victims, and it was a long list. Deep, deep, deep down- where my humanity hid- I knew I should be feeling something, anything, when I thought about all the lives I ended, some just because I could. Just because I felt like it wasn't fair. They had families- brothers who weren't dead, fathers who didn't betray them, and lovers who loved them back- while I had nothing. I killed a lot of people because it wasn't fair._

"_You know this isn't right, Elizabeth. You know killing isn't right. That feeling nothing but the satisfaction of taking lives isn't right."_

_My head snapped to the end of the dark alley. A ferocious growl came from my throat, as I looked for the threat. But I couldn't see anything in the darkness of midnight._

"_Elizabeth, let me help you. You know you miss your humanity."_

_I kept looking for the voice, but I couldn't see anybody. Yet, I've heard that voice before; Soft, kind, feminine._

_I laughed; it was cold and cruel. "Right, I miss the pain and heartache. I miss feeling weak and human. Please, I don't want your help. I'm fine the way I am."_

_Suddenly, a back alley light flickered on. It sent a surreal glow over the nightmarish scene. A small figure slowly walked out of the shadows. My breath caught in my throat. For a second, I swore it was a real angel walking towards me with the redemption I didn't deserve._

_The woman was in her early twenties, and looked like an angel, in the pale, ghostly light. She was very pale, with hair so dark it looked like it was the night sky. Her eyes were wide and forgiving. They looked like stars. She had an aura of pure kindness and love. I felt an urge to cry, looking at her._

"_Let me help you, Elizabeth. Please." She pleaded, as if my answer greatly affected her._

_Lily Moreau wasn't an angel, but she saved me._

"I haven't killed a human since 1948." I told Elena, very proud of my record. Yet, thinking about what I've done to innocent people- it was a guilt I would have until the day I died.

Elena and I were talking in her kitchen. I had kicked Stefan out, to get to know my possible-future-sister-in-law. She was a sweet girl- opposite of Katherine.

"But you've killed?" she asked, and I grimaced. I haven't even had this talk with Damon and Stefan.

"I… I was a monster, Elena. I've done terrible things, killed people just because I could. I wasn't a ripper, but I was just as bad. Maybe even worse." I said, looking down into my root beer.

"How?" Elena whispered, her eyebrows crunched up. I found it easy to talk to her, to tell her my story.

"When I was first turned, that year was hell. I traveled from town to town, feeding on animals. I didn't want to be a monster, but I was living with this pain… I can't even describe it. It was a horrible, eat-you-alive pain. I blame on how vampires feel everything 100 times stronger than humans. I had nothing, no one. I was alone, everyone I had ever loved was dead, or good as." I bit my lip, not wanting to let him back into my thoughts.

"My brothers were dead, I saw their bodies for myself. Later, I realized that they might've died with Katherine's blood in their system, and there was hope, but not then. My father had betrayed me- his only daughter- because he hated what I was. It still doesn't make sense to me, how a parent could kill their own child. Maybe not directly, but they died because of them. I almost died because of him." I took a deep breath to calm my rising anger.

"So, I was living with all this pain that would've killed a human. I was living on animal blood, to stop from becoming the monster my father was so sure I was. But most importantly, I was alone. I was going through this very scary, very drastic change alone, and I had no one to turn to, to ask for help. That's what scared me the most, I think- I've always had Stefan and Damon, to protect me, to help me, to keep me safe. And now no one was there to do that but me.

"I wanted so much to be rid of that pain, I would've done anything. And that's when it occurred to me- I could turn it off. I could turn my humanity, my feelings off. It was the first time in a long time I felt relief.

"On June 5, 1865, I killed my first human. His name was Jerald Huntington, and he was forty-six years old. He was a school teacher, with four sons, and a nine-year old little girl. His wife had died giving birth to her. When I killed him, I took those children's only parent away. But I didn't think about that then. I only thought about taking _my _pain, _my _suffering away. That was the first time I realized how selfish I was." I paused, and gaged Elena's reaction. She looked like she was frozen in shock. I sighed, and then continued.

"Turning off my humanity- it was the best and worst feeling in the world. On one hand, I felt nothing. I felt no pain, nothing touched me anymore. I was immune. But on the other hand, I felt _nothing. _I realized now, it's terrible, feeling nothing. Like you have no soul." I shuddered slightly, then continued.

"I was worse than a ripper, because I didn't rip my victims apart. I played games- mind games." I laughed a humorless, self-loathing smile. "Oh, I had so many tricks, Elena. I pretended to let them go, then chased after them. I was similar to a ripper, because I loved the chase. I used to get groups of people, and then make them choose themselves, the order in which they died. Once, I made a husband drink his wife's blood, straight from her neck. And don't even get me started on the war. I had so much fun with the war-"I stopped suddenly, when I saw Elena's expression. It was horror, and I realized I had gone too far.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you that." I inhaled a shaky breath, reliving all of those events. "I should probably get going-" I stood up, but Elena grabbed my arm.

"No, I want to know what changed. You're obviously not like that anymore." She let go, but I saw the morbid fascination in her eyes. I didn't blame her- she might have her own battle-with-humanity story in the future.

"Someone saved me, my angel." I laughed, and shook my head. "I told her that once, that I thought she was an angel the first time I saw her. I still give her shit for it."

"Who?" Elena asked, as I sat down.

"My best friend in the entire world, Lily Moreau. She saved me from myself. It's kind of her thing, saving vampires who've gone over to the dark side." I smirked slightly. "I'm her favorite though."

"How'd she save you?" Elena asked, and I thought automatically, that Lily would like her.

"It was a very long, and difficult process. It didn't come easy. In fact, the first step is always the hardest." I absentmindedly played with the ring on my finger.

"What's the first step?" Elena asked, and I felt like we were discussing AA's twelve step plan.

"Finding your reason, for wanting to get your humanity back. It's the hardest, because to find your reason, you need to flip the switch." I smiled grimly at Elena. "And the thing about flipping the switch after a long time with it off, it's very hard."

_1939_

_I screamed out in agony, fighting against the ropes binding me to the wooden chair. Usually, I could've snapped them like twine, but I was too weak._

"_Please, please," I begged, sweat dripping from the skin, looking around for her. "Let me go, I don't want this, Lily. Please, let me go!" _

_I howled again, as it felt like someone was literally draining all the blood from my body. She stopped again, and I breathed heavily._

"_We need to do this. Last time you got out, Elizabeth, you mascaraed half of Mississippi before I could find you. I'm not letting that happen again."_

_Lily appeared, looking like the goddess of night. I could tell by her face, that this wasn't the first time she'd drained the blood out of a vampire, but she still didn't like it._

_Getting desperate, I snapped, "You're pathetic, you know that? Absolutely pitiful. Everyone knows why you do this, but we both know that no matter how many people you save, it will never make up for her."_

_I knew that I wasn't the first vampire to tell her that, but Lily still flinched slightly. Then she stared at me, and I screamed again. It was terrible, for two minutes straight, I screamed and howled as Lily drained all the blood from system._

_She stopped, and I slumped against my chair. The feeling of being dry was almost as bad as a 943 year old vampire drained the blood from your system in a matter of ten minutes._

_I panted, as Lily walked closer to me. I felt so weak, and vulnerable, something I hadn't felt since being a vampire. _

"_Okay, now that you don't have any blood in your system, we can access your humanity. Tell me about growing up, Elizabeth. Tell me about your parents."_

"_My mom died." I said bluntly, "And my Dad betrayed me."_

_Lily bit her lip. "Okay, how about your friends?"_

"_My town was full of girls who were raised to be dedicated, submissive housewives, and raise a hundred children. I was the freak who climbed trees and wanted a career for herself. I didn't have any friends." I sneered, rolling my eyes._

_But Lily refused to give up. "What about your siblings? Your brothers?" _

_I hesitated, before mumbling, "They're dead." _

_But lily saw that that was my weakness, and dug deeper. "But you loved them. How close were you to Stefan and Damon? How did it feel when they died?"_

"_What are, my shrink?" I snapped, feeling that door of emotions rattle inside. Lily sensed it too. "How did it feel, Elizabeth, to be completely alone? To have no one? To have everyone you ever loved, dead? To have your own father betray you? To have the brothers who practically raised you, choose Katherine over you? Then how did it feel to lose them? How did it feel, Elizabeth?"_

_I didn't say anything, having to focus on keeping that door with my humanity inside, shut tight. I took a deep breath, then looked up at Lily and smirked. "Like sunshine and rainbows."_

_Lily sighed, then turned around to leave. "We'll try again tomorrow."_

"_Don't hold your breath, sweetheart!" I called, as she slammed the door shut. _

_As soon as she was gone, her words sunk into me. I started feeling things I hadn't felt since my first year being a vampire. And then I burst into tears._

Elena stared at me, after I finished telling her the story about how I finally got my humanity back, after two years with Lily.

"Lily's whole rescue plan takes about five to ten years for it to stick. But the first step takes about six months. Took me two years." I smirked slightly. "I wasn't even the worst vampire she'd ever had, believe it or not. I helped her a couple times, and I'd seen rippers who could destroy entire states within an hour.

"But my problem was that I kept escaping." I frowned, and raised a hand before Elena could ask me how.

A woman in her twenties walked down the stairs and smiled at us. "Hey Elena, who's your friend?"

I smiled at her. "Elizabeth Salvatore." I introduced myself.

She raised an eyebrow. "Jenna Somers, Elena's aunt. Salvatore? Not as in Damon and Stefan Salvatore?" I could tell she was seeing the similarities between me and Damon, then eventually between me and Stefan.

I grinned. "They're my big brothers." I looked down at my cellphone- it was six. "Speaking of which, I should probably get going."

I stood up, and hugged Elena quickly. "We'll finish our conversation later, Elena. It was nice meeting you, Jenna." I smiled, before walking out of the house.

I started towards the woods- I could run home once I was away from the eyes of nosy neighbors. But before I could run, I walked right into a well-built chest.

"God, not again." I cursed, looking up at the man I ran into. Last time I ran into somebody, it ended in my death with a broken heart.

"What are you doing here?" Jeremy asked, as if I was stalking him. He reeked of alcohol.

"Talking with… your sister." I rolled my eyes- I can't believe I hadn't figured it out before. Both of their last names were Gilbert.

"Why would you be talking to my sister?" he asked, walking around me like he was already bored with our conversation.

"Because she's dating my big brother." I retorted, frowning at his rudeness. "You might want to take a shower before you talked to your sister and aunt, drunko the clown. You smell like a liquor store."

He raised an eyebrow at me, as I started down the road towards my house. As soon as no one could see me, I ran, disappearing into the setting sun.

As soon as I got home, Damon was waiting for me. I walked past him, down to the basement for some blood. Reliving my story of redemption made me thirsty.

"So, Stefan made me promise not to push you about the vampire who changed you." He said, as I zapped the blood in the microwave.

"Are you going to live up to that promise?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm going to try my best." He retorted, as I took my blood out of the microwave and poured into a glass.

"Thank you." I said, walking into the living room, and sitting down on a couch. My oldest brother followed me.

"Some chick called for you while you were at school, by the way." He smirked, like his century old siblings going to school amused him.

"Lily?" I grinned. I hadn't seen her in a couple a months- she was currently working on a young vampire in Canada- but I did keep her updated on going to Mystic Falls. Out of all the vampires she had saved, Lily was closest to me- she admitted it herself.

Damon frowned. "No, Poppy. Who's Lily?"

I stared at him, eyes wide. "Did you tell her I was here?" I demanded.

"No, but I think she figured it out, since she called Mystic Falls, and I told her you were at school." He was staring at me like I was crazy. "Who's Poppy?"

"The devil."

_1871_

_I was currently in a small town in the south. I didn't know which state, nothing really mattered to me anymore except for killing._

_I looked like a homeless person- my clothes were ragged and covered in dirt and blood. My hair was a knotted mess and had sticks and leaves in it. When I turned off my humanity, I let my instincts take over. I was a complete animal._

_The screams of the middle aged woman in my arms filled my ears, I ripped her throat open with my teeth. I should've felt something, hearing the terrified screams I was causing, but I didn't. I just found them annoying._

_In seconds, she was dead, and I carelessly pushed her body off of mine. I wiped the wet blood from my lips, smearing it across my face. Then I stood up to go hunt my next victim._

"_It's sad really. You have all this potential, just no one to show you how to use it."_

_I growled, and snapped my head up, looking for the intruder._

"_Who's there?" I snapped._

"_Someone to show you how to us your potential."_

_Slowly, she came from the shadows. She looked like an angel, a sun goddess. Her hair was the color of sunlight, her skin a perfect tan, and her eyes were as blue as the sky on a perfect day. She was beautiful. But the aura radiating off of her was the opposite of her looks._

_There was something dark and sinister about her. Her blue eyes were cold and emotionless, and the smirk on her rosy red lips made her look like a fallen angel._

"_Who are you?" I asked in awe. _

"_Poppy Moreau, at your service."_

**A/N: **thank you for reviewing: funnygirlash101! Reviews make me happy :)


	7. family meeting

**Chapter six**

Family meeting

_Elizabeth_

Biting my nails, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, and left the room. Damon stared at me, confused. He had no idea what was coming.

I pressed one, and held the phone to my ear. Lily picked up on the first ring.

"Ellie! How'd it go with your brothers?" I heard screaming in the background, and then a door slam shut.

"Who are you putting through Rehab: Lily edition?" I asked, momentarily distracted from the crisis at hand.

"A three hundred year old fourteen year old. Her name's Callie and she likes her games. Nothing I can't handle. I'm almost done with the first step; she's probably breaking down right now. So, tell me about your brothers." Lily said, and I could practically hear her prayer that they were alive.

"They're here, at Mystic Falls, they've been here for almost two years. But that's not what I called you about." I said, opening my bedroom door.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you, Ellie! What did you call me about?" I sat down on my bed, and took a deep breath.

"Poppy knows where I am. I think she found out about my brothers, and was going to use them to lure me out. But it doesn't matter, because she knows I'm at Mystic Falls."

There was silence, as Lily took in the news about her older sister. "Is there any way you and your brothers could get out of that town?" she asked, and I heard the distinct sounds of clothes being shoved into bags.

"No, Stefan has a girlfriend. I can't uproot her family, her friends. It doesn't matter; Poppy will find someone in this town to use to get me out of hiding. I think it's time we faced her, Lily."

There was silence on her end. "I'm going to have to kill my sister, aren't I?" she asked, sounding like a child.

Suddenly, an idea came to me. "Maybe not. Just get here as soon as possible, I have an idea." I said.

"I'll be there by tomorrow." She promised, sounding a little apprehensive at my plan.

"I wish we were meeting up on better circumstances, Lil." I said, smiling slightly.

Lily sighed. "Me too, Lizzie." She said.

There were only three people in this world who could get away with calling me Lizzie; Stefan, Damon, and Lily.

"See you soon." I said. Despite the crisis, I was looking forward to seeing Lily.

"See you."

"So, I have to tell you two something."

I had gathered my brothers into the living room, for a family meeting. It was time they knew about what I've been doing between 1864 and now.

"Is it about-?" Damon asked, and I shook my head.

"No, I'm not telling that story yet." I said, "But this one is just as good as that one." I smiled self loathingly to myself, before closing my eyes. It's hard, telling your brothers who thought you were this innocent little girl, that you're not so innocent.

"What is it, Lizzie?" Stefan asked, and I opened my eyes. _Please, please understand, _I prayed silently, then took a deep breath.

"My best friend, Lily Moreau is coming tomorrow. But it's not a visit for pleasure. Her sister, Poppy, is probably on her way to this town right now, to kill me. Then she's going to kill Lily. I'll explain why, but first you two need to know about what I've done." I took another deep breath, avoided their gazing, and then told them my story.

_1902_

_I stood in the middle of a country road, somewhere west, at midnight. A carriage was riding towards me, but the driver stopped the horses when he saw._

"_Miss, what are you doing in the middle of nowhere at such a late hour?" the driver asked, getting of the carriage and walking towards me. _

_I smiled at him, my white dress making me seem ghostly in the moonlight. "I'm waiting for someone." I said placidly._

"_Who?" he asked, looking mesmerized. _

"_She's always late; I think she does it just to annoy me." I smirked slightly, ignoring his question._

"_Well, you should really get home, Miss. It is not safe for such a young girl like you to be walking around alone. It is dangerous." The man said, looking at me like I wasn't in my right mind._

_I laughed humorlessly. "I am fifty-two years old, I can protect myself. Besides, I am the danger." _

_The man stared at me, eyes wide. I could tell he wanted to run, but was afraid I would attack him. Suddenly, I broke out into a huge smile._

"_She's here." I said, grinning._

_The man looked around, but there was no one. Suddenly, there was a loud thump, and his passenger landed between the two of us. He was obviously dead, bleeding from the neck. The man screamed, but I didn't. Instead, I looked behind the man, to the beautiful golden haired girl, covered in blood._

"_It's about time." I said casually, and she rolled her eyes._

"_I'm sorry Lizzie, not everyone is as perfect at being on time as you." Poppy retorted, grinning so I knew she was just teasing._

_The man turned around to see Poppy, and gasped. "Who is she?" he asked, and I could smell his fear._

"_My sister." I smiled, before my fangs came out and I attacked him._

"I was dangerous even before I met Poppy, but she made me so much worse. She made me lethal, she made me a monster." I told them, staring down at my shoes. I was afraid to see their reactions.

"How does Lily come into play?" Damon asked his voice emotionless.

"She saved me. If it wasn't for her, I'd still be out there, still under Poppy's control."

_1936_

_Poppy and I had taken residence in an abandoned house, in the town of Brainerd, Minnesota. She was off getting dinner for herself, while I milled around the old house, bored. There was nothing to do here, and I was begging Poppy to let us leave._

"_Who are you?" _

_I snapped around to see a dark haired girl, hidden by the shadows. She looked a few years older than how I looked. I instantly tensed at the threat. _

"_What did she do to you?" the girl whispered, and glared at her. There was nothing wrong with me._

_I opened my mouth to respond, when a haughty voice answered for me. "Lily, what are you doing here, bothering Elizabeth? I told you that the next time I saw you would be the time I ripped your beating heart from your chest."_

_Poppy stood in front of me, raising a blonde eyebrow at this 'Lily'. The dark haired girl bit her lip. "It doesn't have to be this way, Poppy." She said._

"_Yes, it does." Poppy snapped. "It's too late for us to ever be sisters again Lily, so leave before I kill you."_

_Lily sighed, before disappearing. I turned to Poppy, confused. "Who was that?" I asked._

"_No one." She said, walking out of the room. I stared after her, knowing that that 'Lily' her 'sister' was lucky she was still alive._

"Lily rescued me from Poppy, and put me through this program of hers. She helps vampires get their humanity back. But Poppy wasn't happy that Lily stole me away, and tried to take me back I don't even know how many times. But it was too late, after seventy four years with the switch off, I got my humanity back." I said, smiling slightly.

_1939_

_I shook with the force of which I was crying. The door of emotions was flung wide open. All the pain, betrayal, guilt, anger, loss, and heartache I had shoved back into my mind for seventy four years was taking me over._

"_Elizabeth."_

_I looked up at Lily, looking sympathetically down at me. "I'm so sorry." She said._

"_I don't deserve your sympathy, not after what I've done." I mumbled, closing my eyes._

"_Elizabeth, you can stop killing, you can change. All you have to do is find your reason." Lily said, walking close up to me._

_I shook my head. "I don't want my humanity. I don't want this pain." I insisted, silent tears running down my cheeks._

"_I know, it's horrible, Elizabeth, it is. But you know feeling nothing is wrong. Deep down, you have your reason to want your humanity back. You just have to find it." Lily said, brushing my sweaty hair out of my face in a very motherly away._

_I didn't respond, and Lily slowly stood up. "You can think about it, search for it." She said, turning around to leave._

"_My brothers." I choked out. "There's a slight chance they might be out there. They might've died with vampire blood in their system. If they are out there, I don't want them seeing me like this." I looked her dead in the eye. "That's my reason."_

Nobody said anything, as I finished my story. Slowly, I stood up, and dared to look my brothers in their eyes. Did they think I was a monster? Did they love me anymore?

"Lizzie," Damon said, looking surprisingly empathetic, "We've both been there. Hell, I'm still kind of there."

"Yeah, I only drink animal blood because I'm scared of going back there again." Stefan added the same empathetic look on his face that was on Damon's.

I stared at them in awe. "I killed a lot of good, innocent people. Half of them because I didn't think it was fair that they had a family while I had nothing." I said, as if trying to convince them I was a monster.

"I've killed for a lot less than that." Stefan said, Damon nodding in agreement. I felt like I might cry.

I almost wanted them to be mad at me, call me an evil, bloodthirsty monster. I always felt like I never got punished for all the destruction I've caused, and here my brothers were, trying to make me feel better.

"I-I will be right back." I muttered, just needed to be away from their sympathetic stares. Before they could argue, I was running out into the night.

The cool night breeze cleared my mind, as I walked aimlessly in the woods. It wasn't smart, if there was a chance Poppy was here already. There was no way I could take her on by myself.

But I needed to clear my thoughts. I felt lost, almost. Ever since I came back to Mystic Falls, I was remembering a lot of things I just wanted to forget.

I found myself at the ruins of my old home, and I gasped slightly. I almost expected it to be the same way I left it. But it was almost completely gone, just like my human life. All I had of both were the memories.

I exhaled slowly, closing my eyes. I missed being human.

"Elizabeth?"

I looked up to see Stefan. I turned my back to him.

"What, did you and Damon draw straws or something?" I muttered.

"No, we both agreed that I would take this one because I could relate to it the best." Stefan said, walking up to my side.

"How?" I mumbled, my eyes staring up into the stars.

"I was ripper, or I am a ripper, just a recovering one."

I looked up at him, my eyebrows furrowing. "I didn't know that." I said.

Stefan nodded. "I know everything you're going through, I've been there Lizzie." He said, gazing down at me with those kind, understanding eyes.

"Then you know how I don't think it's fair that no one's punished me for what I've done." I said, pushing my bangs out of my face.

"Punish?" he asked, confused.

"No one's yelled at me for the lives I've taken, the families I've broken. Everyone's just been so god damn understanding. I just want one person to call me a monster, to hate me for everything I've done." I looked down at the ground, away from Stefan.

"Hey," Stefan grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look at him in the eyes. "No one's telling you those things, Elizabeth, because you're doing it for them."

I looked down again, knowing he was completely right.

**A/N: **thank you: funnygirlash101, vdemily, hidansgirl1234, and NewClassic1 for reviewing! How's everyone feeling about all of the flashbacks? Personally, I love flashbacks. I love watching them, and I love writing them. This story will have a lot of flashbacks, so beware if you are a flashback hater.

Reviews are like candy, and I have a sweet tooth for them :)


	8. the best friend

**Chapter seven**

The best friend

_Elizabeth_

I stared straight up at my ceiling, the morning sunlight peeking out from behind my curtains. I didn't get any sleep, and I really didn't want to go to school. I wanted to wait home for Lily.

"Lizzie!"

I closed my eyes. I had been unable to look my brothers in the faces since I told them the truth about my past. I regretted telling them, but if I didn't Poppy would've. And she would've made it much worse than it was- if that was possible.

"Elizabeth!"

Maybe after Lily and I take care of the whole Poppy crisis, I should leave with her. My brothers would be better off without me. Stefan was in love, and Damon was still recovering from Katherine. I never even talked to him about that. I was a terrible sister.

"Elizabeth Alessandra Salvatore, get your ass down here now!"

I sighed, and pulled the covers over my head. I heard footsteps coming up the staircase, marching towards me. My door opened, letting in sunlight, and I groaned.

"Damon, just leave me alone." I muttered, pulling the blanket tighter over my head.

"Now is that any way to treat your best friend?"

I shot up from under my blankets, and stared, wide-eyed, at a slightly smirking Lily.

"I thought you weren't coming until tonight." I said, launching myself into her arms.

"Well, one of your brothers called and said you were acting depressed, so I took an earlier flight." She grinned, hugging me tight.

"Which one?" I asked curiously.

"The one who's very sarcastic and a bit of a smartass." Lily said, smoothing down my frizzy hair absentmindedly.

"Damon." I said, grinning.

"So, can you explain your very quick spout of depression to me, Ellie?" Lily said, looking around my room, and opening the curtains. I flinched as the room flooded with sunlight.

"I'm not depressed," I muttered, sitting back down on my bed."

"Which was exactly why you were refusing to leave your room and face your brothers." She gave me a look, silently telling me that she knew me better than I knew myself.

I sighed, I couldn't lie to her. "I was just thinking that they might be better off without me." I mumbled, lying down on the bed.

Lily scoffed. "Please, I was downstairs with those two for barely two minutes and I can already tell that they would die for their little sister. Elizabeth, they thought you were dead for 146 years- they're not going to let you go so easily."

I sighed, and Lily continued. "I know that you think that they love you less, think of you less because they know your story, but they don't. Stefan is a ripper in recovery, Lizzie. And I can promise that he was worse than you, back in his day. And Damon- that man has more problems than any vampire I have ever met. I could tell within the first twenty seconds I met him that his humanity is constantly on and off, on and off. He cares, but then he doesn't. He's so heartbroken, but he refuses to work through it. Plus, that tension between him and Stefan is so thick, you could cut a knife through it. Trust me honey, you are not the most damaged apple in your family tree."

I bit my lip and looked into light, kind eyes. "Are you going to try to fix my family?" I asked, half amused and half hopeful.

Lily shrugged, but there was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Depends, are you going to run off as soon as I do?"

I sighed. "It was just a random, self-loathing, thought. Truth is, I'm too selfish to let them go, even though they'd probably be better off without me." I said, playing with a loose thread on my blanket.

Lily sighed, clearly sensing everything wasn't okay with me. "Elizabeth, you are a good person. Remember that." She said firmly.

I shook my head, staring up at her. "I'm not, though. Lily, you know about my past, how could you say that I'm a good person after everything I've done?"

She shook her head too. "That doesn't make you a bad person, Lizzie. That makes you a vampire who's made bad decisions. Besides, I consider that Lizzie a completely different person than the Lizzie in front of me. She had her humanity shut off and locked up tight. This Lily has her humanity on, no matter how much pain she feels."

I stared at my best friend, and bit my lip. "Thank you." I said, sighing. "I'd probably be packing up my stuff right now if you weren't here."

Lily smiled, "That's what I'm here for- to keep you from doing stupid things that you'll regret later."

"Somebody's gotta do it." I smirked, standing up and moving to my closet. "So, what are we going to do about Poppy?" I asked, my smirk dropping from my lips.

"We wait. Poppy loves making a scene- when she's here, we'll all know it." Lily said, as I pulled a tank top and some jeans out of my closet.

"Besides, aren't you the one with an idea?" she added, raising her eyebrows.

"Maybe, but first I need to talk to a witch."

"I don't have to go to school, you know." I told Lily for the hundredth time, as she unpacked her things in the empty room next to mine.

"It's fine, Lizzie. I'm too old for high school, and you need to talk to that witch." She said, and I sighed.

"You sure?" I said again, not really wanting to leave her.

"Elizabeth, as long as your brother doesn't try to kill me, I'll be fine. Now go, before I make you." She said, smirking. She pushed me to the door and I frowned at her.

"Fine." I mumbled, and she rolled her eyes, as I shut her bedroom door. I walked down to living room, where Damon was sitting on a couch, drinking blood.

"Yum." I said, stealing the glass from him and finishing it. He frowned at me, and I smirked back.

"Were you really thinking about leaving?" he asked bluntly, taking his empty glass back.

I gaped at him. "You heard that?" I asked, biting my bottom lip.

"If you want you to have a secret conversation, don't have it in a house full of vampires." He retorted, and I sighed.

"Yes, I was really thinking about leaving. I probably would've if Lily hadn't talked me out of it." I said, looking down at my converse.

"Well, I guess I should be nice to her then." He mused, and I frowned at him.

"Yes you should. Lily is my bestest friend in the entire world, and if you're an ass to her, I will punch you in the throat." I threatened, and Damon raised an eyebrow.

"That seems a little harsh." He said, and I shrugged.

"You probably have it coming," I smirked.

Damon shrugged too. "I probably do."

I laughed, as Stefan walked down the stairs. "Ready to go?" he asked me.

I nodded, and we walked to the door together.

"Hey Lizzie," Damon called, and I looked over my shoulder at him. I stopped walking, and waved at Stefan to go ahead without me.

"What?" I asked Damon, leaning against the door.

"If you left, I would just drag your ass back." He said, and for a second, I saw a flash of fear in those familiar icy eyes I shared with him. Then it disappeared and he smirked at me.

"I don't doubt you would." I muttered, walking out the door, and shutting it behind me.

_Lily_

Lily frowned at the locket Elizabeth gave her for her 943 birthday last year. It worried her when Elizabeth talked in that self-loathing tone of hers. She was scared that her best friend would go and do something as regrettable as killing herself.

Lily flinched slightly at the thought of losing Elizabeth. She clasped the locket around her neck, and it hung next to the pendant that protected her against the sun.

There was a knock at her door, and Lily turned around to see the oldest Salvatore leaning against the doorway.

"Hey Damon." She said, turning back to refolding her clothes..

When Lily first met Damon Salvatore face to face, she was struck by how similar he was to Elizabeth. Not just in looks, but in personality. The only difference was that Elizabeth was more of a people person than him. But she knew that there was more to Damon than his arrogance, bluntness, and attitude. He was the oldest Salvatore sibling, and he protected his little brother and sister- even if he would never admit it about Stefan.

Another thing about Damon Salvatore that she noticed, was that he was absolutely, undeniably heartbroken. Elizabeth had told her about Katherine, and how much she hated her for tearing her family apart. Lily couldn't help but resent Katherine herself, looking at the broken man in front of her.

"I just wanted to… thank you for taking care of Elizabeth." Damon said, grimacing slightly, as if he didn't thank people very often.

Lily smiled slightly. "You don't do that very much, do you? Thank people?" she asked, her silvery gray eyes twinkling.

"Does it sound like I do?" he retorted, and Lily's smile grew bigger. She set down the t-shirt she was folding and stared at Damon.

"You're welcome. Elizabeth is just as important to me as she is to you." Lily replied, brushing a black curl out of her face.

"And thank you for talking her out of leaving." Damon added, and Lily felt her heart pick up speed at the way he was staring at her with those blue eyes.

Elizabeth and Damon had the same eyes. She always liked Elizabeth's eyes, but on Damon they were… sexy. It was very awkward, thinking about her best friend's brother like that.

Lily shrugged, looking away from his gaze. "You and Stefan would just have dragged her back." She said, like it was no big deal.

"Still, thank you." Damon turned to leave, when Lily stopped him.

"If you want to help Elizabeth, at least pretending that you don't hate your brother might help." Lily said, gazing up at him thoughtfully.

Damon looked at her, clearly caught off guard. "You don't-"

"I do, though. I know what happened, and I know what it's like to have a sibling who hates you. You may think you can handle it now, Damon, but what about in eight hundred years? Don't let it get as far as I did. You'll regret it."

"Lizzie never really explained why Poppy wants you two dead, besides the fact that you and her had a custody battle for my sister." Damon said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Lily sighed. "My story with my sister is very long, but the cliff notes version is this; we were very close when we were humans. When she was changed into a vampire, she changed me because I asked her to. For centuries, we traveled together, but I started to notice what a monster she was becoming, and slowly we started drifting apart. I tried to save her, to help her get her humanity back, but it was too late- She lost it forever. Poppy resented me for not being a 'true' vampire, and for trying to change her. After a few centuries, we became how we are today, because neither of us tried to save our relationship. Elizabeth made it worse, because I imagine that Poppy was using her as a replacement sister, and I didn't want another vampire to end up like her. So, I took Elizabeth, and I saved her. And now she's stuck in the mess Poppy and I created."

Lily sighed again, wishing Elizabeth wasn't involved in that mess- that was Lily's fault. Damon watched her, deep in thought.

"So, you're saying that Stefan I could be you and Poppy in a couple centuries?" he asked after a few silent seconds.

Lily nodded. "If you think things are bad now, Damon, just know that I would be so, so happy if Poppy and I were like you and Stefan. Because, deep down you and Stefan still care about each other. Poppy's been trying to kill me since 1803, and the only reason I haven't tried to kill her first, is because I still see my sister when I look at her. Could you honestly kill Stefan? You may threaten it, but could you really?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Damon didn't respond, but he shook his head slightly. "Fix your relationship with your brother before you become Poppy and I. my biggest regret in life, Damon, is how things are with my sister. And the worst part is that I can never fix it." Lily said, then she walked out of her bedroom without another word.

Damon stared after his sister's best friend, silently contemplating her words. The real question was; were things too bad with Stefan already, to even have a chance at repairing the damage?

**A/N: **Poppy and Lily are both 943 years old, and there's a reason for it. You'll all find out eventually. It's not a big plot twist, just my way of tying things together for the future of this story.

Thank you to: hidansgirl1234 for reviewing!

Reviews make me smile :)

"


	9. a promise to save a life

**Chapter eight**

A promise to save a life

_Elizabeth_

I sighed, closing my eyes as the teacher lectured on and on in Biology. The seat next to me was empty, and I imagined that Jeremy was off doing drugs somewhere.

"Miss Salvatore?"

I opened my eyes, to see the teacher glaring at me. "I'm sorry- am I boring you with all this learning?" he asked dryly, and there was scattered laughter.

"Well,_ I_ was a little sleepy."

Jeremy smirked, as he sat down next to me. I smiled slightly, as Mr. Kelp turned his glare to Jeremy.

"Mister Gilbert, you are twenty minutes late. That is unacceptable." He snapped, narrowing his eyes.

I felt anger flare up inside of me. "He showed up, didn't he?" I retorted, and Jeremy let out a spurt of surprised laughter.

Mr. Kelp's eyes widened and he turned his glare back to me. "Elizabeth, go to the office. You can join her, Jeremy."

Silently, the two of us left the room together. I sort of expected us to be at least friendly acquaintances now, but Jeremy didn't look at me as we walked to the office.

I frowned at him, seeing that same heartbroken glaze in his brown eyes that were in Damon's blue ones. "Who broke your heart?" I blurted out, honestly curious.

Jeremy looked at me, surprised by my outburst. "I don't know what you're talking about." He muttered, looking away from me.

"What was her name, and how did she do it?" I asked. I might be overstepping invisible lines, but I wanted to know why Jeremy was a jackass drug addict.

"I didn't get my heart broken." He lied, and I snorted.

"Please, I've seen plenty of heartbroken eyes in my time to recognize a pair when I see them. And honey, you have all the signs." I said.

Jeremy sighed, clearly not wanting to tell me. Then it looked like a light bulb went off in his head. He looked me dead in the eyes, and smirked.

"Fine, I'll tell you who broke mine, if you tell me who broke yours." He said smugly, and my eyes widened.

"I didn't get my heart broken." I lied, looking at the ring on my finger.

"Now who's lying?" Jeremy smirked.

I sighed, biting my lip. Was it worth it, telling him something really personal just to hear why he was a dick?

"Deal." I said, causing Jeremy to look surprised. I bet he expected me to back off, but I wasn't the type to just let things go.

"Fine," Jeremy sighed. "It was two girls. One was Vicki- she died last year. Then there was Anna, who moved away a couple months later. I never heard from her again. "

I frowned sympathetically at him. "I'm sorry." I said truthfully- really, I just expected that his girlfriend dumped him for some football player.

"Whatever," he mumbled, looking down at his shoes. "What happened to you?"

I sighed, it was only fair. I did promise him. "I fell in love with a man who was probably a little too old for me, but I kind of liked how he was more mature than any of the other boys my age. He broke my heart more times than I can count, during our relationship. He used me and led me on. I don't even know if he ever loved me back. One minute he was going on about how we would be together forever, the next he was saying how he wasn't capable of love. But still, I kept going back. I kept falling deeper in love with him, and he kept skinning my heart alive. Finally, I caught him in bed with another girl, and ended it. Then he betrayed me even more."

Jeremy stared at me, brown eyes wide. "How did he betray you?" he asked.

I shook my head- I really couldn't tell him that. "It's complicated." I said.

"What's his name?" Jeremy asked, as we stopped in front of the office.

Just then, the bell rang loud and clear throughout the halls. "Saved by the bell." I muttered, before being swallowed up by the crowd.

"Bonnie!" I called, chasing after my brother's girlfriend's best friend.

Bonnie stopped and looked at me, her eyebrows furrowing. "Oh, hey Elizabeth." She said, clearly confused on why I was talking to her.

"I know we just met, but I need a favor from you. If it helps my cause, we would be stopping a pretty evil vampire bitch." I said, falling into step with her.

"What do you need?" she asked, looking like she was already thinking about helping me.

"Emily cast a spell on the church, to save the vampires, in 1864. But in reality, she trapped them in the basement for 145 years. I was wondering if you could do a similar spell, cast it on a room so that any vampire who entered it couldn't leave." I said.

Bonnie nodded right away. "I know I can." She said. "Can I ask why?"

"Long story short, a very old, very strong vampire wants me dead. The only person who could kill her would be her sister- equally old and strong. But you can understand her apprehensiveness to kill her older sister. So instead, I was thinking that we could trap her instead, so that Lily won't have to kill Poppy." I explained.

"I think I can help you, I just need to know when." Bonnie said, and I beamed.

"Thank you! I'll give you the details when I can." I said, then walked away to call Lily.

We had a plan. All we had to do now was set it into motion.

At lunch, I called Lily and told her that we had a plan to trap Poppy. That made me late to lunch, and I was craving French fries.

Being a vampire, I wasn't really _hungry, _per say, but I could eat food as long as I drank blood. And I got cravings just like everyone else.

As I was walking to the cafeteria, I saw Jeremy behind a tree. He was getting high.

I sighed, and against my better judgment, I walked up to him. "At school? Really?"

He looked at me, and sighed. Hiding his bottle of pills in his pocket, he turned his back to me. "Go away, Elizabeth."

"You know, drinking and doing drugs won't make them come back." I said bluntly.

He looked at me, narrowing his brown eyes. "I'm not-"

"It won't make them miss you, it won't make them love you again, and it won't make them come back to you. All it will do is kill you slowly and painfully. Trust me, I know a thing or two about self-destruction, and it's not worth it." I said.

"Screw you, It's not any of your business." He snapped, walking away from me.

"It feels better now, numbs the pain, but the longer you avoid said pain, the more it will hurt when you finally face it." I said, following him.

He whirled around to face me. "You don't know anything." He snapped, and I saw that same desperation in his eyes that I had in mine when Lily was trying to save me.

"I know more about pain, heartache, and self-destruction than you ever will." I retorted, not knowing why I was even trying.

"Oh, really?" he laughed cruelly. "You think we have something in common, Elizabeth? I lost the only two girls I ever loved, and you just got used by some jackass as a sex toy. You wouldn't know real pain if it bit you in the ass."

I didn't even flinch. "Jeremy, do yourself a favor, and stop avoiding your pain. It's going to kill you, and I'm not even being dramatic. Your pain is going to eat you alive if you don't face it."

Jeremy stared at me, and I almost thought that he might take my advice, when he just smirked. "Thanks, but I'll take my chances."

He started walking away, and I let him. But I wasn't discouraged. In fact, I was even more determined.

"I'm going to save Jeremy Gilbert, if it's the last god damn thing I do." I said, but I knew he heard me.

Jeremy kept on walking like I never said a word.

"Hey," I smiled at Stefan and Elena, sitting down next to them at our lunch table.

"Bonnie told me that you wanted her to cast that tomb spell. Why?" Elena asked, as I dug into my fries.

"Because we need to stop Poppy, but Lily doesn't want to kill her sister if she has a choice- and she's the only person capable of doing so." I explained.

By the look of understanding on her face, Stefan must've filled in the blank spots in the story I'd given to Elena. "When is Poppy coming?" she asked.

I shrugged. "She might be here now, but Poppy likes making big, dramatic entrances, so I'll doubt that she'll show her face until an opportunity presents itself." I said, scanning my brain for any possible opportunities.

"There's the founder's ball in about two weeks." Elena offered.

"Then we'll see Poppy in two weeks." I announced, standing up. Stefan watched me.

"Do you have a plan, Lizzie?" he asked, silently asking _do you need Damon and mine's help?_

I shook my head. "I don't want you or Damon involved in this." I said firmly, walking to the trash can. Stefan stood up and followed me.

"I'm the big brother- _I _should be saying that." He mused.

"This is my mess, Stefan." I frowned at him. "Not yours. You don't know what Poppy's capable of, I do. You and Damon aren't involved in this, and I want you two somewhere safe when this all goes down."

Stefan rolled his eyes. "Elizabeth, this Poppy is trying to kill my sister. She's a threat to Elena and her friends and family. I am involved in this, and I won't be on the side lines when everything happens- I'll be in the middle of it all, making sure no one I love gets hurt. And I will bet you that Damon won't be willing to just watch either. But nice try."

I sighed. "Stefan…"

"Lizzie…" he mocked, raising an eyebrow.

"I will take a stake in the heart before I let you and Damon die for me." I said, meaning every word. I stared him in the eyes so that Stefan knew it too.

"Elizabeth, I lost you once already, I'm not going to lose you again." He said in the same firm tone that I used.

"Then we're in agreement- no Salvatore sibling is dying anytime soon." I said.

Stefan nodded, and returned to Elena. I watched him, not seeing any signs of his ripper past in my older brother. And honestly, if you were to ask me which of my brothers would be a ripper, I would've picked Damon.

That's why you can't judge a book by its cover. The people who seem the least threatening can end up being the most dangerous.

As I walked to my last class of the day, I saw Jeremy hanging out in the stoner's pit. He was with a couple other druggies.

Remembering my promise to him, I started walking towards him. Without announcing my arrival, I knocked the pill bottle out of his hand, and the pills spilled everywhere.

"What the hell?" he snapped, glaring at me. I simply shrugged my shoulders.

"I told you I would save you, Jeremy, and I'm a woman of my word." I smirked, and then walked away from him. I reminded myself of Lily at that moment.

"You can't save me." He called at my retreating figure, his stoner friends too high to even notice our argument.

"I beg to differ." I retorted, not even looking back.

I had helped Lily save some vampires before, but never a stoner human. I knew the differences between the two, but I think I could use almost the same rescue plan on Jeremy that Lily used on her vampires. I'd just have to change things around a little.

But step number one would still be the same. It was two steps really, just mushed up together. You sober up the vampire- or drug addict- and help them find their reason to change.

I just didn't know if Jeremy had one.

**A/N: **for the sake of my story line, Jeremy doesn't know about vampires. He was compelled to think that Vicki died of over-dose, and that Anna just moved away. I'm taking some things from the show- so far season one and two, maybe three later on- but I'll be changing some things. Like Jenna's still alive for one, and Jeremy doesn't know about vampires.

Thank you to: funnygirlash101 and vdemily for reviewing!

Reviews inspire me to update!


	10. stubborn

**Chapter nine**

Stubborn

_Elizabeth_

"I was attending a boarding school in France for the last two years. I've haven't seen Stefan and Damon since I was twelve. But I decided to change that, so I dropped out and moved here." I smiled as Jenna ordered pizza.

"You were all by yourself in France?" Jenna questioned, sitting down next to me at the kitchen table.

"I had my best friend, Lily. She's a hell of a wing woman." I joked.

"I'd still be freaked out. Stefan said before that your parents were dead. I'm sorry." Jenna said, and I shrugged. I was never really close with my parents, and I will never forgive my father for betraying me.

"I was never very close to my parents. They were always… exasperated with me." I smirked to myself. "I gave them hell. They wanted me to be a housewife with a billion kids, and I wanted to be a doctor or an author or a scientist- I wanted a career of my own."

Jenna's eyebrows furrowed. "You should've told them that it's not the 1800's anymore." She said.

I laughed awkwardly to myself. "That was the problem, wasn't it?" I muttered to myself.

"My parents were very conservative." Stefan said, as he and Elena walked into the kitchen. He shot me a look, and I shrugged my shoulders innocently.

"Elizabeth and Damon were the trouble makers of the family, and gave them trouble up until the day they died." Stefan said, and I snickered.

"Yeah, and we made the goody-goody stand guard whenever we pulled a prank." I smirked at Stefan, and Jenna and Elena laughed.

Suddenly, the front door burst open, and Jeremy walked in. he saw me and glared. "You're going to stalk me until the day I die, aren't you?" he snapped at me.

I shrugged. "Depends what's on TV." I retorted.

"Jeremy." Jenna said, as if she couldn't believe her nephew's manners.

Jeremy ignored her, and stomped up the stairs. Jenna sighed and turned to me. "I'm sorry," she said.

"Jeremy's just… not in the best place right now." Elena explained, biting her lip. I saw in her eyes that she wanted to save her baby brother, but didn't know how to.

"It's okay. I know he doesn't like me." I said, standing up.

Jenna furrowed her brow, as she watched me walk to the stairs. "Why?" she asked.

"Because I'm a buzz kill." I said, walking up the stairs.

I heard loud rock music come from a room, so I followed it. Pushing it open, I saw Jeremy sitting at his computer, listening to the slightly disturbing music.

"Is he really singing about cannibalism?" I asked, walking into the room. Without asking, I started going through his stuff.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jeremy exclaimed, as I grabbed bags of pot, pill bottles, and bongs.

"I'm cleaning out your stash." I said, grabbing a bottle of Jack Daniels from an old shoe. "Druggies aren't very creative with their hiding spots, are they?" I asked no one in particular.

Jeremy grabbed the bottle from me. "Why are you doing this? Why do you care?" he growled, as I snatched the bottle back.

"Because, like I told you, I've been in the same spot as you. And- in different ways- I've been down the same road as you. I'm going to save you from yourself, Jeremy, because if nobody saved me, who knows what would be of me right now." I said, shutting off the music that made my skin crawl.

"We'll talk about your taste of music next time." I told him, walking towards the door.

"So what? You took my stash away, I'll just get more." He laughed like he figured out how to foil my plan.

"And I'll take that away, then the next one, then the next one. I think you get the idea." I said, opening the door. "I'll take away all of it until you just give up and let me help you."

Jeremy didn't answer, and just turned his music back on. I sighed, he was stubborn, But so was I. we'd just have to wait and see who'd stick to their guns and who would give up.

"I'm gonna head home." I said, walking down the stairs with my arms full of Jeremy's stash.

Elena and Jenna stared at me. Stefan just sighed, not surprised in the slightest. "Is that Jeremy's-?" Jenna asked a look of surprise on her face.

"Oh," I looked down at the items in my arms like I forgot about them. "Yeah, I think I'm gonna take the next crack at putting Jeremy through rehab."

"Good luck." Jenna sighed, like she'd been right where I was, and hadn't had much success. "You'll need it."

I smiled, and then turned to Stefan. "Are you gonna stay here?" I asked him.

He nodded. "I'll be home in an hour or two."

I bid everyone goodbye, then ran off into the night. I made a quick stop at a stream, and dropped Jeremy's stash into it. I wanted to make sure that he could never get it back.

When I came home, I expected Lily to be complaining about Damon. I loved him, but Damon had the tendency to be a first rate jackass when he wanted to be.

Instead, I saw Lily laughing, as she poured two glasses of blood.

"Hey," she smiled when she saw me, and got another glass. "How was school-"she sniffed the air and narrowed her eyes. "-and why do you smell like drugs and alcohol?"

"Oh, I just got done throwing some in the stream a quarter mile away." I said, taking a glass of blood.

"What?" Damon said, walking into the kitchen. "If you were done, Lizzie, you bring the rest of your stash home and share. You know we don't waste." He said sarcastically with a smirk.

Lily pushed him playfully, and I rolled my eyes. "I'm currently rescuing a drug addict. You should be proud of me, Lil." I said, smirking at her.

"Not Elena's messed up brother, Jeremy?" Damon asked, taking a glass of blood from Lily.

"That'd be the one." I said, then did a double take to my best friend and my brother. They were standing next to each other, and Damon had an arm around Lily. I frowned slightly- they looked close. Too close, maybe.

"Lily, can I talk to you?" I asked abruptly, frowning at her.

Lily raised an eyebrow, but followed me out of the house. When I was sure that Damon wouldn't hear us, I said, "So, I see that Damon and you are… close."

Lily smiled and nodded. "He's really not that bad, a lot like you." She said, brushing her hair out of her face.

"You two… didn't sleep together, did you?" I asked, biting my lip.

Lily's eyes widened. "No! I just met him, Elizabeth! I know Damon's kind of a man whore, but I like to think that I'm not that easy."

I shook my head, relieved. "You're not Lily, you two just seemed… really close. Too close."

"It's called friendship, Lizzie. Believe it or not, a guy and a girl can have a decent conversation together without ripping each other's clothes off." Lily said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes, but something was still bugging me. "Are you sure you don't like him, Lily? Because you have a tendency to fall for the guys you're trying to save, and then realize you don't like them when they have their humanity back. I love you Lily, but if hurt my brother, I will break your face." I said, worried that my brother or my best friend might get hurt.

Lily frowned. "I'm sure Elizabeth," she muttered, and I think I hurt her feelings a little bit.

I sighed. "Sorry Lily." I apologized, hugging her. After a few seconds, she gave in and hugged me back.

"I have to go check on how the ripper I'm working on is doing. I left Jack with her." Lily said, pulling out her cell and walking towards the woods. Jack was one of her recovered vampires that fell absolutely in love with her, but she decided she just liked him as a friend.

I watched her leave, then walked back into the house. I saw Damon lounging in the living room, and decided to ask him if anything happened. "You're not falling for Lily, are you?" I asked him bluntly.

Damon turned around to face me, and raised an eyebrow. "She's hot, Lizzie, but I think I'll stay clear of hot vampire chicks right now." He said sarcastically.

"Good," I sighed. "But just so you know, if you two did get together, and you hurt Lily, I will break your face."

I turned to walk up the stairs to my room, when Damon called, "I heard you say that to Lily, but nice try Lizzie."

When I reached my room, I closed the door and laid down on my bed. I thought of Jeremy, and how similar we were when it came to dealing with pain. I just didn't want him to end up like me, with a past that he will regret for the rest of his life.

I also thought about the first thing Lily told me when I offered to be her assistant in her rehab center- which was really just a deserted old house, with a dungeon-like basement. _Vampires tend to bond with the person who brings back their humanity, since it's such a personal experience. And vampire men might even convince themselves that they love you. But ninety-nine out of a hundred cases, they don't. _

Would Jeremy fall for me, if I succeeded in saving him? Would I pull a Lily and fall for him too? I don't know if either of us could, since he was obviously not over Vicki and Anna, and I've never completely healed from _him._

I liked to think that I was over him, that I didn't care about him anymore. But the fact that I died still in love with him meant something. I hated him, loathed him, but I might still love him.

Closing my eyes, I let myself think about one of the many memories I had of him.

_1864_

_Damon was off fighting in the war, and I was spending most of my time praying that he didn't return in a casket._

_Stefan and I spent most of our time together, both very worried about losing Damon. But Katherine Pierce- an orphan from Atlanta who lost her family in a fire- arrived a few days ago. The minute she stepped foot on our property, Stefan was entranced by her, like she had a spell cast over him. We hadn't spent much time together since she arrived, and I didn't care for her very much._

_Walking alone down a road towards town, my mind drifted back to the masquerade. I hadn't seen my dance partner since then, but he strangely occupied my thoughts- when I wasn't thinking about Damon._

_I waved absentmindedly to the few people who waved at me, as I walked to the apothecary. I was supposed to pick up a few things for Father there._

"_Miss Salvatore." I broke out of my thoughts, and looked to see him smirking slightly down at me._

"_Hello." I greeted, my pulse picking up speed as he looked at me with his sky blue eyes. _

"_A pleasure to see you again," he said, kissing my hand. _

_I smiled slightly, taking a deep breath. "The same." I said, having to clench my hands together so that I wouldn't bite my nails._

"_I'm sorry, were you going somewhere?" he asked innocently, but with that smirk that refused to leave his lips, everything he said and did came out anything but innocent._

"_Yes, I have to go to the apothecary." I said, feeling very young, vulnerable, and self-conscious under his gaze._

"_May I accompany you?" he asked, and I nodded, finding it hard to look him in the eyes._

_We walked silently into the store, and I picked out the herbs I needed. I noticed how the men stayed away from him, and the women kept staring at him, like he was a brand new dress, imported from Europe._

"_May I ask what is bothering you, Miss Elizabeth?"_

_His English accent sent shivers down my spine, and the way he called me 'Miss Elizabeth' made my heart pound in my chest._

"_My oldest brother went off to fight in the war a few weeks ago, and I'm just so worried that he won't return home in one piece." I blurted out, nervously brushing a black curl away from my face._

"_Aw," he said, "That would explain it. Are you close with him?"_

"_I have two brothers, and I'm very close with them. Do you have any siblings?" my pulse was slowing down, as we made normal conversation._

"_My family is very… dysfunctional. I only have one sibling I'm close to right now, I'm afraid." He said, as I paid for my herbs and ingredients._

_He walked me back to the road leading to my house. "I'm sorry, I couldn't imagine not having my brothers." I said sympathetically._

"_It's been like that for a long time. You grow used to it after a while." He said, then looked at me, a look crossing over his face. It was one of lust and hunger, and it made me shudder slightly._

_Bending down, he murmured, "It was nice to see you again, Miss Elizabeth."_

_He kissed my hand again, and my breath got caught in my throat. Slowly, his head lifted, and his lips pressed against mine._

I opened my eyes, and touched my lips. I could still feel his lips against mine, even 146 years later.

Even 146 years later, I still felt those butterflies in my stomach that should've gone away 146 years ago.

I was asked to tell what Lily and Poppy look like. Poppy's portrayed by Amber Heard, but I can't find someone who looks like Lily to me.

Happy New Year everybody! Thank you to: funnygirlash101, vdemily, and Erin for reviewing.

Reviews make me feel loved!


	11. and i will try to fix you

**Chapter ten**

And I will try to fix you

_Elizabeth_

_Humanity, Georgia_

_1909_

_That name of that town was so ironic it made me laugh. That cold, humorless laugh that was now a part of me. _

_It was night, the air so still that it felt suffocating. I stood stock still, staring up into the pitch black sky. Poppy and I had been occupying this very small town for a few days. At first it was boring- I loathed small towns, there was nothing to do- but then Poppy told me of her plan for this town. The best thing about Humanity, was that it was in the middle of nowhere, not another town or house or person for miles. _

_No help for miles._

_I waited quietly for the signal. Poppy made it very clear that we had to execute this plan perfectly for everything to work out. If the townspeople found out too early, they could cause us extra trouble._

_Suddenly, I heard a long scream pierce the silent air, and I smirked. Show time._

_A terrified girl sprinted towards me, tears streaming down her face. I didn't feel her pain, I didn't care that she had just discovered her parents dead. All I did was let loose the hunger within me._

_I stalked towards the girl, my eyes red and my fangs protruding from my mouth. She fell backwards, shaking in fear. She let out a low whimper as I stopped inches from her._

"_Please," she whimpered, a southern drawl just audible. "Why are you doing this?"_

_I sighed; humans were never original with their last words. Just once, I would like to hear something else besides, "Why are you doing this?"_

"_Because it's fun." I smirked, as I yanked her roughly up towards me._

_Then I ripped her throat out with my teeth._

_Soon, the screams started, as more and more townspeople discovered the bodies of their families- courtesy of Poppy- and ran for help. Unknowingly, they ran straight for me._

_I was so busy ripping out throats and draining bodies dry, I barely had time to enjoy it. Poppy just watched as I killed every last person in the small town of Humanity. All because Poppy and I were bored._

_I breathed heavily, blood coating my face and dress. I stared at the dead bodies all around me, and something deep down twitched slightly. My humanity. I easily blocked out the guilt I felt, choosing to bask in the feeling of power drinking all that fresh blood brought me instead._

_I had just killed an entire town almost completely by myself. I had never done that before, and it was a new low for my almost nonexistent humanity to hit._

_I saw a nearby barn go up in flames as Poppy set the town on fire, to burn up the evidence. I sighed, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. I needed to bathe and rid my body of the blood that covered it._

_I turned to run to the nearby stream, when I suddenly saw a body hanging from a tree that shouldn't of been there._

_Lily's._

_I gasped loudly, and fell backwards. This didn't happen here. My best friend was still alive-_

_Suddenly, my brothers were spread eagle on the ground, dead. They wore the same clothes they had when I found them dead in 1864, bullet wounds and all. Suddenly, they morphed into present day Stefan and Damon, with stakes in their hearts._

"_No," I sobbed, "Not again…"_

I sat up straight, gasping for air. I panted, and looked around my pitch black room. I was alone, yet I felt like someone was watching me.

I pushed my sweaty black hair out of my face, then got out of bed. I needed somebody, anybody. I needed to know that my brothers were alive and safe.

I pushed my door open, and looked around the house. It was dark and silent- it had to be almost two A.M. I padded next door, and eased Lily's door open. I saw through the darkness, a lump on the bed, and Lily's long black hair sticking out.

I could hear her heavy breathing, and deemed her safe. I closed her bedroom door, then went across the hall to Stefan's room. Pushing the door open quietly, I saw both Stefan and Elena in Stefan's bed. Elena was snuggled into Stefan's chest, and they were both alive and sleeping soundly.

I closed their door, then went to the end of the hall to check on Damon. I kept feeling eyes on me, as my heart continued to pound in my chest. My nightmare felt so real- the pictures of my brothers' dead bodies would be forever burned into my mind.

I pushed Damon's door open, and though the room was dark, Damon stood in front of me, very awake. His hair was a mess, and he was shirtless, as if he just woke up.

"What are you doing up?" he asked, as I put my hair into a high bun, out of my face.

"Just making sure everyone was alive." I whispered nonchalantly, walking towards the stairs. Damon followed me.

"Oh, well that's fine. Everyone gets up two-thirty in the morning to make sure that their families weren't murdered in their sleep." Damon said sarcastically, as we walked into the kitchen together.

"I had a nightmare," I explained. "And it seemed really real. So I just made sure that it wasn't."

Damon poured each a glass of blood, and I took a huge gulp of mine. It calmed down my nerves.

"What was it about?" Damon asked curiously, as I hopped up on the counter.

"It- it started out as a flashback. A small, dead-end town in Georgia, 1909. Humanity, Georgia. I remember perfectly what happened there." I said darkly.

"That was when you were in your ripper phase." Damon noted, and I still had a hard time meeting his eyes when we talked about my past.

"I wasn't a ripper, Damon." I muttered, sipping my blood.

"Well, until you come up with a new term to describe what you were, I'm going to refer to you as a ripper, okay Lizzie?" he said dryly, and I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever, but yes that was when I… wasn't the best version of myself." I said, setting down my empty glass.

"Do you remember all of the towns you massacred?" Damon asked, and I tried not to flinch when he used the word 'massacre.' That's what I did, but it still bugged me how my brothers didn't treat me like the blood-thirsty monster I was. I was still that monster, but I had that part of me under control and locked down tight.

"No, but I remember that one, because I literally destroyed that town. If you look it up now, it doesn't even exist. It's a local legend now, switches from wild animals to murders when people talk about why the town was destroyed, and no one lives there. But in reality, it was me and Poppy- but mostly me. that small town in Georgia was the only town I took off the map- it was worse than Mississippi." I muttered. But before Damon could ask what happened in Mississippi, I continued on with my story.

"It started off as the flashback, everything happened the way I remember it. But then, at the end there was suddenly Lily- and she was dead. And then you and Stefan were there, dead," I felt a pang in my heart, just remembering it. Damon watched me, emotionless. "It felt so real, not like a dream at all." I continued.

"you sound like you don't believe your subconscious came up with it by itself." Damon mused, as I poured us more blood.

"Because- because I don't." I said, my eyes widening slightly, as I realized exactly what happened.

"I know exactly who did it. Exactly the person who thought to pair up one of my worst memories with my worst fears." I sighed, pushing my bangs out of my face.

"I think I know who you mean," Damon said, and I opened my eyes.

Looking straight at my oldest brother, I said, "Poppy's coming, and she wants me to know it."

_**~LG~**_

I was exhausted, as Stefan drove me to school. All I wanted was sleep, but if I went to sleep, Poppy would probably give me another horrific memory with a side of dead loved ones. God knows that she knows all of my bad memories of the past- because she was a part of most of them, egging me on.

"I think that you should get on vervain." Stefan said randomly, as we pulled up to Elena's house.

I raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like fun." I said sarcastically.

"other vampires won't be able to get inside your head- dreams, compulsion… Damon and I are on it." Stefan said, then his eyes widened as if he realized that he told me too much.

"Why would we need to prevent compulsion?" I asked suspiciously. Red warning flags went off in my head.

"Please don't tell me that you and Damon got involved with originals." I groaned, closing my eyes. were my brothers prone to getting involved with vampires that could and would tear their hearts out?

"Lizzie, it's a very long- wait, how do you know about originals?" Stefan asked curiously.

My blue eyes popped open. "Everyone knows about the original vampires, Stef, they're the first of our kind." I said evasively, staring out the window.

"But most assume that they're just stories, or dead." Stefan pressed, and I shrugged.

"I'm not most Stefan. I'm a believer." I smiled forcefully at him, wanting to get off of this topic.

As if hearing my prayers, Elena came out of her house, and headed straight for the car. I sighed in relief, knowing Stefan would want to finish our conversation in private. Hopefully, he would forget all about it so that we wouldn't have to.

_**~LG~**_

I wasn't in the best mood, as I walked into biology. I ignored Jeremy as I sat down next to him. He seemed just as happy as I was, and ignored me too.

"Today, we will be dissecting frogs. So please everyone get goggles and gloves…" Mr. Kelp said, and I made a face. I hated dissecting. even though I've seen plenty of horrific sights in my life- hell, I've caused some- I still got nauseous at picking apart dead animals.

Silently, Jeremy got us our frog, while I put on the stupid safety glasses that left marks on your face, and the cheap, throw away rubber gloves. I had a disgusted frown on my face, as Jeremy brought back our frog.

"Okay class, first one person must make an incision right here-" the teacher showed us where to cut using his own frog.

I grimaced, then stepped away from the poor dead frog. "Go crazy, Gilbert." I said, my stomach feeling queasy.

"Actually, _Salvatore, _I'm gonna let you take the lead on this one." Jeremy said, stepping away from the frog as well.

"Well that's really nice of you Jer-bear, but I insist." I smirked up at him, and he frowned down at me.

"Don't ever call me Jer-bear again, Lizziekins." He retorted, and I gagged slightly.

"Okay, truce." I muttered, and he smiled slightly. Then he realized what he had done, and instantly glowered at our dead frog. But it was too late.

I gasped exaggeratedly. "Did I just make Jeremy Gilbert smile? Someone alert the media." I said sarcastically, as Mr. Kelp walked towards us.

"You're pretty annoying, do you know that?" Jeremy said, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

"And you're an ass- glad we got that settled." I returned his smirk, as Mr. Kelp glared at us, stopping a few feet away from our table.

"Have you two done any work?" he asked, looking at our frog that was still in one piece.

"Obviously not." Jeremy and I both retorted at the same time. He frowned while I grinned.

Mr. Kelp sighed. "Office, both of you." He said in a resigned voice.

Glad to get away from cutting up a frog, I rushed out of the room. Jeremy was behind me, and didn't look half as annoyed with me as he had when class first started.

"You're a really weird person, Elizabeth." He stated bluntly, as I flattened down my hair.

"What, is this Insult Elizabeth Salvatore Day?" I asked, frowning.

"That wasn't an insult, it was a statement." He said, grinning.

I raised an eyebrow while smirking. "Two smiles in a day- must be a miracle." I muttered.

Jeremy rolled his eyebrows, but his grin didn't go away. In fact, it grew bigger. I didn't realize it then, but slowly, very slowly, I was in fact, fixing Jeremy Gilbert.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **I haven't updated in forever, I know, and I apologize. I made up the town Humanity, in case you were wondering. As far as I know, there was or is no town in Georgia by that name.

Thank you to: bloody alanna for reviewing! As always, reviews inspire me to write.

~Abby


	12. sisters

**Chapter eleven**

sisters

_Lily_

_France, 1067_

_The moon glowed down on Lily, the stars twinkling in the night sky as she lay down in the grass. She was hiding from her father, and the fields behind the small cottage had always provided a safe haven for her and her sister._

_Her father, Julian Moreau was a farmer, and not a very successful one. He had bad luck when it came to growing food, and he only had one very skinny milk cow, that was already half dead. Most people in the small village that he lived in preferred to buy their food from another farmer from the next village over. Because of this, Julian was very poor, and his wife, Claudette Moreau, constantly nagged him and threatened to leave him for the town blacksmith. _

_Julian was a short, portly man, and best known for his horrid temper and for being the village drunk. Claudette was tall and bony, and had a face like a horse. She was the town gossip, and not very liked by the fellow villagers. _

_The only good, notable thing about the couple were their two daughters, Lilianna and Poppaea. The two were easily the most beautiful girls in the village, possibly in France. Though the two were sisters, their looks were opposite. Lilianna- or Lily, as she preferred- was short, pale, and very petite. She looked like a night goddess, with her dark hair and eyes that looked like stars plucked from the sky._

_Poppaea- or Poppy, because she loathed Poppaea- was tall, tan, and very curvy. Her hair was the color of sunlight, and her eyes as blue as the sky. She looked like the goddess of the sun, bright and proud._

_The ironic part about the sisters' looks was their personalities. Lily, with her dark looks, was sweet and kind and forgiving. She had the lighter personality out of the Moreau sisters, while Poppy was mischievous, manipulative, and vengeful. Though Poppy wasn't completely bad then- Lily brought out the goodness in her older sister, as Lily did with everybody. Poppy was very protective of her little sister, and when their father came home drunk and angry, Poppy would take Lily's beating for her._

_Because the men of the village wished to win the hands of the Moreau sisters, Julian began to see much more profit the summer Poppy turn seventeen, and two years later, when Lily turned the same age. He used his daughter's beauty to his advantage, and bribed their many suitors with promises to let them marry his daughters, in order to become rich. Claudette- just as greedy as her husband- would have her daughters deliver the orders into the village, in order to entice more possible suitors._

_Lily and Poppy hated their parents for not being very good ones. They loathed their father for beating them for nothing more than being alive. They loathed their mother for just watching, thankful that it wasn't her being harmed._

_Lily sighed painfully, thinking of her sister. She remembered that night, almost two weeks ago, when Gerard Brieux- the richest and most powerful man in their village- invited the entire Moreau family to his large hut for dinner. Though it wasn't spoken, everyone understood that the dinner was so that Gerard could choose a wife between Lily and Poppy._

_Gerard was in his mid-thirties, and though he wasn't the king of the land, he was the king's right hand man. Therefore, all the villagers- including the Moreau family- knew that he had the right to choose his bride. To defy his choice would be considered treason. Gerard wasn't handsome, or kind, and he treated women like they were toys- only there to be admired and played with when bored, and to prove to the other men that he had the best toy. They didn't have emotions, they didn't matter. _

_Lily and Poppy knew all of this, and were not excited to attend the dinner. For it was a lose-lose situation for them. They didn't want to marry Gerard, but they didn't want their sister to marry him either. And both of them knew that one of them would walk out of Gerard's hut engaged. Poppy secretly prayed that it was her- as always, she would take double the pain to protect her little sister._

_Lily was nineteen, and Poppy twenty-one. Poppy was considered an old maid in her village, and Lily was on her way to becoming one. This was because of their father wanting them to remain single, in order to keep their suitors buying his farmed goods. But the sisters were glad- neither wanted to get married to a man who wouldn't treat them right, for women were not treated very well at that time._

_That night, Lily and Poppy got dressed in their best dresses, and walked with their parents to Gerard's hut. Dinner was not very fun for the sisters. Their father babbled nervously about farming, while Gerard stared at Lily and Poppy like they were pieces of meat._

_At the end, the Moreau sisters prepared themselves for Gerard's decision. Their parents were excited- who wouldn't be, to be able to say that their son-in-law was the right hand man of the king?_

_Gerard stared at the sisters one last time. He looked at Poppy's long legs, hidden beneath her salmon colored dress. He admired Lily's subtle curves, her dark blue gown showing them off._

_Finally, his eyes settled on Poppy, who was standing slightly in front of Lily- as if to protect her. "I choose Poppaea as my bride." He said gruffly, before leaving abruptly for his bed._

_Poppy clenched his eyes closed, as Lily gripped her hand tight. Their parents were thrilled though, and the wedding was set for the following month._

_That night, Poppy walked into the room that the sisters shared. Her night gown billowed around her due to the slight breeze. Lily gazed at her sister, a hollow feeling eating away at her stomach._

"_I am so sorry, sister." Lily murmured, staring at her bare feet._

_Poppy shook her head. "You have nothing to apologize for, Lily. Nobody is at fault, it is just bad luck that I am to have that barbarian for a husband." She muttered bitterly, her golden braid so long, it almost grazed the floor._

"_I wish he chose me instead of you, Poppy. I would go through that hell for you." Lily said honestly, hugging her sister._

_Poppy hugged Lily to her, letting Lily's equally long raven mane brush against her face. "No, Lily, I would not let that happen." She said fiercely._

_Poppy pulled away, and looked meaningfully into her sister's silvery gray eyes. "Do you ever think about leaving, Lily? About running away from this village? You and I, we could do it. As long as we remained sisters, we could leave here and leave everyone behind. Mother, Father, Gerard…"_

_Lily looked back at her sister, slightly concerned. "Yes, I suppose that is a nice thought, Poppy, but we cannot do it. Where would we go? How would we survive? What would we do?" _

_Poppy sighed, and backed away from Lily. "You are right, Sister. It was just a silly thought." She mumbled, walking out of the room._

"_Where are you going?" Lily called, but Poppy didn't respond. She sighed, hoping that Poppy wouldn't do anything reckless or impulsive. She thought about running after her, but Poppy liked being left alone when she was in a mood._

_There was no sign of Poppy the next morning, and when no one had seen Poppy by the night, she was declared missing. Gerard had a search Party set up for his missing Fiancée, but nothing was ever found of her. Not a body, nor any blood, not even a golden hair._

_Most people assumed that the soon-to-be bride ran off, but Lily knew better. Poppy would never leave that god forsaken village without her. Something happened to Poppy. In reality, Poppy was most likely dead._

_A sob broke from Lily's chest, and she closed her eyes. She should've ran after Poppy that night. She might still be alive if Lily did._

_Julian and Claudette were not happy that their daughter had ran away from her engagement. They were worried that the king might punish them for their daughter's mistake. Julian took out his anger on Lily, and the bruises and scars were very visible on her pale, ivory skin._

_Lily knew what Poppy's disappearance really meant. She would be marrying Gerard now. Not that Lily wouldn't marry him, if it meant getting her sister back. She would in a heartbeat._

_Lily heard her father's loud, drunken shouts from the hut, and she shut her eyes tight. Julian had taken to getting drunk everyday now, making Lily's beatings more frequent. _

_Suddenly, Lily felt the glow of the moon disappear, and froze in fear. "Father, please-" Lily said, opening her eyes. but she stopped talking when she saw who was looking down at her._

"_Poppy." She whispered, feeling tears form in her eyes. Poppy smiled down at her, but Lily noticed the apprehensiveness in her blue eyes._

_Lily launched herself at her sister, hugging her tightly. After a few seconds, Poppy hugged her back. It felt like she was trying to squeeze the life out of her._

"_Ow…" Lily whimpered, pulling away, and staring at her sister. Poppy looked like a wild animal; her hair was wild with mats. Dried mud, leaves, and sticks were caught in her hair. Poppy was still in her night gown, but it was ripped up and covered in mud, and what looked like to be… blood._

"_Poppy!" Lily exclaimed, pointing to where there was a huge oval of dried blood on her stomach. Poppy looked down, and shrugged dismissively. _

"_It is not mine." She said, and Lily noticed the feral look in her eyes- one that belonged to a predator, an animal. But then she would blink, and Lily saw her sister again._

"_We-we thought you were dead, Poppy." Lily stuttered, very confused. Yet, she was ecstatic- she had her sister back._

"_Do not fret, Lily. I am better than I have ever been." Poppy beamed, and Lily furrowed her brow._

"_I was not supposed to come back, Lily. But I could not leave you behind." Poppy continued, and Lily kept feeling more and more confused._

"_What do you mean?" Lily asked, but suddenly Poppy focused on the many bruises and scars covering Lily._

"_Lily, what happened?" Poppy said, grabbing Lily's left arm with force. She flinched and whimpered in pain._

"_Father was not very happy that you left sister, and he took out his anger on me." Lily whispered, pulling her sleeves down._

_Poppy's face contorted, and Lily gasped when she was suddenly gone. Her black hair whipped around as she searched for her sister, but she was nowhere to be found._

_Seconds later, screams of agony and terror filled the air, and Lily took off towards her house. She pushed the front door open, to find blood everywhere._

_Lily gasped, frozen in shock and fear. What had happened? Where was her sister?_

_Lily's gazed traveled over to where her sister stood, covered in blood. The lifeless body of their father was in her hands, and Lily could see the still silhouette of her mother behind her._

"_They will not bother us anymore, Lily."_

_Lily looked up to see her sister's face, covered in blood. Lily shook her head, this was too much to take in. her parents were dead, and her sister killed them._

_Lily's silvery eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she passed out._

Lily gasped loudly, her silver eyes popping open. The streak of sunlight from the window warmed up her face, as her heart pounded in her chest.

She closed her eyes, a pang in her chest as the very real memory she just dreamed about hit her heart. Poppy was such a bitch.

She knew exactly where the soft spots in Lily's armor was, their human sisterhood being one of them. _Still, this is just a "Hello," _Lily thought, as she pulled the blanket over her head. In the nine hundred years plus Lily and Poppy had been sisters, Poppy had played plenty of mind games on her- it was her specialty. And the memory of Poppy coming home as a vampire didn't even make the top twenty.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty."

Lily didn't even open her eyes. "Go away Damon, I'm sleeping." She mumbled, burrowing deeper under her warm blankets.

"Not anymore, you're not. Your sister just launched a dream attack on my sister, not to forget the fact that she's coming here to kill her. So today, you're going to take a walk down memory lane and tell me everything about Poppy, so that I can make sure that she will never hurt my little sister again. Now come on, get up. Early bird gets the worm." Damon said, before ripping her blankets off of her body.

Lily groaned, and glared at him. "You're such a jackass." She muttered, getting out of her bed.

"Honey, you're not the first person to tell me that, and you definitely won't be the last." He said dryly, before walking out of her room.

Lily glared at his retreating figure, before getting dressed. She and Damon had bonded yesterday, and she even got him to talk about Katherine a little bit. But he still was a bit of a jackass to her, though Lily didn't take it personally. Damon treated everyone like that- even his little sister, who he would die for.

Lily got dressed in jeans and a simple white V-neck t-shirt. She put her dark hair up, and then trudged downstairs to get coffee. Even though Lily was one of the oldest vampires alive – not including the originals- she still hated mornings. She had spent two centuries without her daylight necklace, forcing her inside during the day. This caused her dislike of the day and sun, and her preference of the night.

"If you are making me relive particularly painful human memories today, the least you can do is buy me coffee." Lily said, walking right past Damon and to the front door.

The much younger vampire had no problem keeping up with her, and they silently drove into town. Lily thought back to all her memories of Poppy, the good and bad. Stefan and Damon reminded her so much of the Moreau sisters. So close as humans, but driven apart as vampires because of love and lifestyle.

Lily closed her eyes, as the sun warmed her face. Her dream that morning had made her think about those first years of being a vampire. Unlike most vampires, Lily never had much of a problem with bloodlust and losing her humanity. It must have been her personality as a human, her natural born self-control.

Still, even with the self-control she had to keep her emotions and blood lust in check, Lily still killed humans. Because that's what Poppy did, and so Lily did too. The first couple decades, Lily killed random people with Poppy, but unlike her sister, Lily's humanity was still on, it had always been on. So Lily felt the guilt full throttle of killing, and that caused her to kill bad people instead- to kill human monsters. Up until 1232, Lily had hunted and killed rapists, murderers, family beaters, and child molesters. But even killing people who definitely had it coming, Lily still felt guilty.

That's when she stopped killing all together. She lived on animal blood, and fed on compelled humans, never killing them. Their different opinions on humans slowly drove Poppy and Lily apart, but they kept together because they still loved each other, they were still sisters. Blood was thicker than water.

It wasn't until 1412, when things really got bad. That was the year that the Moreau sisters met Garret Jansen. It was also the year that Poppy lost her humanity completely, the year she became beyond saving. It was the year that the Moreau sisters stopped being sisters.

"How old are you?"

Lily broke away from her thoughts to blink up at Damon. "Hmm?" she asked in her pensive voice.

"I asked how old you were." He said, staring at the road ahead of them.

"943." She said, and Damon raised his eyebrows.

"Well, you look good for an old lady." He said, and Lily smiled slightly.

"Like you should be talking, you're how old? At least over 150." She said, and Damon smirked at her.

"You're still nine times my age." He said, and Lily shrugged.

"I am one of the oldest vampires around- not including the originals." She said, as the pulled to a stop in front of a coffee shop.

Lily waited in car, as Damon went to get them coffee. Her mind wandered back to 1067, to France. She was born and raised there, but she didn't really miss it, nor being human. She didn't have a very great human life, and the only thing she missed about it was how close she and Poppy were.

_France, 1067_

_Lily woke up to the sun shining on her face, and opened her eyes. Her head pounded, and her memory was blurry. She moaned softly, and flipped over in her bed. Just then, she saw Poppy in the corner of their room, as far from the sun as possible._

"_Poppy…" she mumbled, her eyes half closed._

"_Shh, Lily, everything is fine. I promise." Poppy said soothingly._

"_Mother and Father, Poppy. They… they are dead." Lily kept muttering, her eyes closed._

_Suddenly, Poppy appeared on the other side of the room, crossing through a beam of sunlight. She screamed in pain, and Lily caught glimpse of a very bad burn on her older sister's arm._

"_Poppy?" she asked, sitting up._

"_He warned me that that would happen if I went into the sun." Poppy muttered to herself, staying away from the beams of sunlight in the room._

"_Poppy, what happened? I-I remember now, you killed mother and father." Lily said, her eyes wide. Though the fact that her parents were dead did not make her cry, it did not make her sad at all._

"_I did." Poppy said calmly, like it was no big deal. Lily's eyes widened in fear._

"_What happened to you, Poppy? You are not the same." Lily asked, as Poppy walked closer to her._

"_I am a vampire now, Lily." Poppy told her, gaging her reaction. Lily's eyebrows furrowed in confusion._

"_A-a vampire? I have never heard of such thing." Lily said, though she did not think it was a good thing._

_Poppy spent the next hour explaining to her little sister what a vampire was. She told Lily about the bloodlust and power she first felt when she drank blood for the first time. Poppy explained about her new strength and speed, and how she can hear and see things better. How all her feelings were enhanced, but something inside her didn't want to feel anything at all._

"_You cannot go in the sunlight?" Lily asked, part of her curious about vampires and the other part scared._

"_No, but I am working on it." Poppy said, sitting down on the bed. For the first time in a long time, Poppy felt great. Her parents, her awful parents, were dead, and she was strong. She had all this power that she had never had, and now she had her sister. Poppy had never felt so good in her life._

"_And what about this flower? Vervain, you called it?" Lily asked, somehow not afraid that Poppy might kill her. _

"_It prevents compulsion- mind control. It also burns. It, along with the sun, is a vampire's weakness. Also, I cannot get inside a house without an invitation. He also told me that the way to kill a vampire is a wooden stake into the heart." Poppy explained, staring out the window._

_Lily wondered who "he" was, but did not ask. Instead, an idea went through her head._

"_Poppy, do you know how to change a human into a vampire?" she asked, her brow furrowing. She was afraid, but Lily knew that Poppy would never age, and Lily would grow old and die. She could not be without her big sister._

"_Yes, a human has to die with vampire blood ingested." Poppy said thoughtfully, then looked at her. "Why?"_

"_Would you change me?"_

_Poppy's blue eyes widened. "You wish to be what I am, sister?" Poppy whispered, sounding hopeful._

"_Forever and always, sister. I will not leave you alone, and I do not wish to be alone." Lily smiled softly, gripping Poppy's hand._

_Slowly, Poppy bit into her wrist, drawing crimson blood. Lily stared wide-eyed, as Poppy brought her wrist to Lily's mouth. _

_Lily swallowed a generous amount, and gasped slightly when Poppy pulled her wrist away. The blonde grimaced slightly._

"_I am sorry Lily. I hope this will not hurt." She whispered, reaching for Lily's neck._

_And then the world went black._

"You zone out a lot, don't you?"

Lily looked at Damon blankly. "Huh?"

Damon sighed, before giving her a cup of coffee. "For such an old vampire, you have a really bad case of ADD."

Lily narrowed her eyes at him. "It's your fault, making me take that damn walk down memory lane."

"I need to know how to kill the bitch who's trying to kill my sister." Lily didn't flinch when he called her sister a bitch. Poppy was one, even as a human.

"You can't kill Poppy, she's too strong. Besides, Elizabeth and I have a plan." Lily muttered, sipping her coffee.

A part of Lily didn't want her sister to die, even if she had spent the better part of five hundred years trying to kill her. It was the part of her that remembered her as a human. It was the same part that still felt guilty for not saving Poppy before her humanity was unreachable.

"Yeah, I heard. You're going to get the judgy witch to cast a spell and trap her in the tomb. Great plan- until she gets out." Damon said dryly.

"She won't get out." Lily insisted stubbornly.

"I bet that's what they thought in 1864 too." Damon retorted. "The only way to make sure that Poppy doesn't get out is to kill her. If you're not going to shove a stake into her heart, I'd be more than happy to do it myself."

"You can't kill her, Damon! She'll behead you before you could even raise your stake." Lily shouted, her silvery eyes fiery.

"I didn't plan on going straight up to her, Lily. I'd have the witch cast a spell or two first. Plus, I bet you'd be all too willing to divulge a couple of Poppy's weaknesses." Damon said sarcastically.

"Don't you understand, Damon? Poppy doesn't have weaknesses!" Lily said, glaring at him. Damon raised his eyebrows.

"Everyone has at least one weakness, Lily. One of mine is a short, stubborn 161 year old vampire stuck in a fifteen year olds body." He said.

"Weakness requires humanity, Damon." Lily said quietly, her temper quieting down.

"'and Poppy's humanity is turned off.' Please, I know that when you reach a certain age, the switch goes away. Poppy has her humanity, she's just really good at hiding it." Damon rolled his eyes.

Lily frowned. "I wouldn't know that, I've never turned off my humanity. But Poppy doesn't have any humanity Damon, and if she does, it's deep, deep down. She reached the point of no return centuries ago." Lily said.

Damon stared at her. "That's why you do it then." He muttered to himself.

"Do what?" she asked curiously.

"the whole vampire rehab, to try to make up for your sister." Damon shook his head. "You have some serious issues."

"Yeah, well, you're pretty messed up too." She retorted.

Damon grinned at her, making him look like a mischievous twelve year old. Lily shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"I'm sorry I was pushing you on killing Poppy," Damon mumbled suddenly. "Lizzie's always telling me to work on my insensitivity."

Lily smiled slightly. "It's fine, you're just trying to protect your little sister. I can respect that."

Lily was suddenly aware of how close Damon was to her in his Camaro. She could feel his breath on her cheek slightly, and if she turned her head, their lips would almost touch. Slowly, Lily turned her head, her soft lips almost grazing Damon's.

A loud ring broke the two out of their trance, and Lily hastily turned away from Damon. She grabbed her phone from her pocket. "Jack," she muttered, avoiding Damon's gaze. "I've got to take this."

She got out of the car, before Damon could respond, quickly answering the phone. She only half listened to Jack, instead her mind drifting to the kiss that almost happened.

Lily closed her eyes, as Jack went on and on about the ripper they were rehabilitating. she could not fall for the oldest Salvatore- he was still in love with Katherine, and Elizabeth had made it perfectly clear that she didn't want it to happen.

She blamed it on Poppy, on reliving her transformation into a vampire. It was messing with her mind, screwing her up.

_France, 1067_

_Lily gasped, as came back to life. The sun had set, and Poppy was waiting impatiently for her. The first thing Lily felt was the pain in her gums, and the unbelievable hunger she felt._

"_I-I am so hungry, Poppy." She whispered, looking around for anything to eat._

"_I know Lily, I know. We will take care of it right now." Poppy soothed, before dragging Lily out of the house._

_Lily was dragged into town, where a few townspeople were milling around. Lily was horrified to find that they all smelled very appetizing. _

"_Watch, little sister. You will be doing this very soon." Poppy whispered with a wicked smirk. Then she suddenly attacked a middle aged woman, ripping her throat open._

_The blood drew Lily forward, as people started running away from them. The Moreau sisters ignored them all, as Lily leaned closer to the dead woman._

_The power Lily felt when she took her first gulp of human blood was indescribable. She felt amazing, she felt like a goddess. She felt as if she could do anything._

_That night, the sisters mascaraed the entire village. From the peasants to the royalty, every single person was slaughtered within two hours. Poppy made sure to make Gerard's death extra painful._

_Lily was panting, as she pulled away from a dry body. She was drenched in blood, but she felt amazing. The sense of strength and power she felt overrode the guilt that was wiggling inside of her like a worm._

_Poppy suddenly appeared at her side, a huge grin on her face. "Isn't it wonderful, Lily?" she whispered, covered in fresh blood as well._

_Lily nodded, looking around for more blood. Suddenly, an arrogant voice filled the air. "You and your sister have created quite a mess, Poppaea."_

_Lily looked around for the intruder, but only saw a shadowy figure of a man. Poppy stared right at it._

"_I am sorry. I know you told me not to go back, but she is my sister. I could not just leave her." Poppy insisted._

_The shadowy figure stared at Lily, and she squirmed under his gaze. "Fine, I can understand your loyalty to your family. It is too late anyhow. Now come, the sun is rising in an hour." _

_The figure suddenly disappeared, and Poppy beamed. Lily was confused, but before she could ask who the man was, Lily had gripped both of her hands._

"_This will be great, Lily. We will spend the rest of eternity together, you and I. sisters, forever and always."_

_Lily beamed back, truly believing those words then. "Forever and always." She agreed._

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **I have no idea what happened during ancient France. I tried to Google it, but Google failed me. so, my apologies if you just happen to be an ancient France expert, and find that everything I wrote during Lily's flashbacks was wrong. I exercised my artistic license while writing this.

Thank you to: Funnygirlash101, vdemily, and Audrey for reviewing!

Reviews = updates and lots of love from me :D

~ Abby


	13. heartache

**Chapter twelve**

Heartache

_Elizabeth_

I walked to my art class, in a good due to mine and Jeremy's bonding. I hadn't seen him since Biology, but I was sure that we were on better terms than before.

"Welcome to art, Miss Salvatore." Ms. Coffee told me, and I smiled politely, as I took a seat in the back.

"I'm starting to think that you're stalking me."

I smirked at Jeremy, as he sat down next to me. I could tell that he hadn't drunk or smoked since yesterday, since he smelled clean.

"And here I thought I was so good at it, I mean you didn't notice me last night. Or the night before." I said, wide-eyed.

Jeremy laughed. "That's really creepy, Lizzie." He said, taking out his sketch book.

I frowned, "Don't call me Lizzie." I told him, as he flipped to a new page.

I saw glimpses of pictures, as he flipped. A lot of them were of various monsters, and were kind of creepy.

"You were a troubled child weren't you?" I asked, gesturing to an especially demented picture of a wolf-demon thing.

He smirked at me, but moved the sketch book away from me. "That's a little ironic, coming from you." He retorted.

I hit him playfully in the arm, careful not to use any of my strength. "I'm not troubled; it's perfectly fine to enjoy ripping the heads off of Barbie dolls."

He laughed again, and I smiled slightly. "If I'd known that drugs were what was putting you in such a bad mood, I would've put you through rehab sooner." I told him, as he started drawing in his book.

Jeremy didn't answer, but he did smile. "How does it feel, to be sober?" I asked him, ignoring the dirty look the teacher was giving me for not doing anything art-related.

Jeremy paused, "Actually, it's not too-"

"Jeremy!"

We both looked up to see one of Jeremy's druggie friends walking towards him. I frowned, but Jeremy smiled at him.

"Sam, hey." Jeremy greeted, closing his sketch book. I kept frowning at the stoner who would no doubt ruin my all my hard work.

"Hey, do you-"Sam leaned in close to Jeremy, and I got a whiff of what had to be pot mixed with beer. "-have any of those pills left?"

"I'm afraid those pills are in Dean Man's Creek." I answered for Jeremy with a smirk.

"Dude, who's the hot chick?" Sam asked Jeremy, and I rolled my eyes.

"Elizabeth Salvatore- she's decided on her own to put me through rehab." Jeremy rolled his eyes. "So, sorry dude, I don't have anything."

Sam looked crestfallen, as he walked away. I frowned at Jeremy as he returned to his drawing.

"I think we can add your choice of friends to the list of things we should discuss." I told him, and he smirked at me.

"Along with my taste of music." He said, and I laughed.

"I'm sorry Jer, but if you like a song that has the lyrics 'I like to lick your blood, and cover myself with it like mud' you have bad taste in music." I told him honestly.

The bell rang, but Jeremy just shook his head at me before packing up his things. "I think you're taking your mission to 'save me' too seriously." He told me as we walked out of the classroom together.

"Well Jer, I didn't specify what I would be saving. First I thought it would just be your life, now I'm saving your taste in music. It's a growing list."

_**~LG~**_

After school, I was at the grill. I had a glass of root beer and my biology homework, and I was focused.

"You're doing homework? Really?"

I didn't bother to look up from my textbook, as Damon sat down across from me. "You don't want your baby sister to become a dropout, do you?" I asked sarcastically, frowning at a hard question.

Damon rolled his eyes, before stealing my drink. Then he promptly spit it back into the cup. "That's disgusting- what is that?"

I rolled my eyes, and looked up at my oldest brother. "Its root beer and you can keep it now." I told him.

He raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't have any alcohol in it."

I sighed, exasperated. "It's pop, Damon. It's not supposed to have liquor in it."

"The name is very misleading." He told me, pushing the ruined root beer away in disgust.

I sighed, before looking back down at my homework. "I really have to finish this Damon. I'd promise Jeremy that I'd help him, but I can't help him if I didn't do the homework myself." I said, my eyes scanning a paragraph.

"Yeah, Stefan told me that you were fixing the broken Gilbert." Damon said casually, frowning at me since I was focused on my homework.

"And it's actually going very well. Faster than I imagined. Humans are different from Vampires." I said offhandedly, flipping a page.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Nothing gets past you, Sherlock." He told me sarcastically, before knocking my textbook off of the table.

I frowned at him. "You're not a very good influence, Damon. Big brothers should be encouraging their little sisters to work hard in school." I said, picking the book off of the ground.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Have I ever encouraged you to do schoolwork, Lizzie? Even when we were human?"

"Good point," I sighed, putting my homework away. I would never get it done with Damon around.

"I just came from a council meeting," Damon informed me, signaling for a waitress.

I raised an eyebrow. "Since when are you on the council? Isn't that kind of ironic, since the council is working _against _vampires?"

"You have a lot of catch up to do, Lizzie." Damon said, ordering two shots.

I sighed when Damon handed me a shot. Even though it helped with the thirst, I tried not to drink a lot. Not since prohibition, when I got wasted to spite the government. I tossed the shot back anyway, before signaling for my brother to continue.

"Apparently, there were attacks a couple hours away from here, all around Virginia-"he explained, doing his shot.

"We already know that Poppy's heading this way." I interrupted impatiently, pushing my hair out of my face.

"If you let me finish Elizabeth Alessandra Salvatore," Damon said, raising an eyebrow at me, and I smirked back. "I would have told you that they weren't human deaths. There were eight attacks since last month, and every single victim was a vampire."

I raised my eyebrows. "Hunters?" I asked, praying that it wasn't. I found them irritating and most die without killing a single vampire, but there were dangerous ones out there. The older, the experienced ones. I've never come across one before, but every now and then you here of an attack.

"Has to be," Damon shrugged. "The council's happy, wants them to take a trip into Mystic Falls. I, of course, am not too thrilled. So just be on your guard, Lizzie."

I sighed. "Great, because we didn't have enough problems." I muttered, leaning against the back of the booth.

Damon stared at me curiously, and I raised an eyebrow in response. "What?" I asked.

"You're never going to tell me who changed you, are you?" he asked, and I sighed.

"You said that you weren't going to push, Damon." I mumbled, looking down at my empty shot glass.

"I'm not!" he said, and I just raised an eyebrow at him.

"You were just pushing ten seconds ago," I told him.

"I wasn't pushing, I was merely prodding. It's different." He defended himself.

"No, not really," I shook my head.

"All I know is that Stefan said that you were in love with the dick that changed you." Damon said, and I sighed.

"You don't even know him," I argued, not knowing why I was protecting him.

"Lizzie and guy who breaks my little sister's heart is a dick in my book. The only reason that I haven't ripped his out is because I don't know who he is." Damon admitted a serious look in his eyes.

"I love how the only reason you and Stefan talk is to trade information on me." I said sarcastically, trying to change the subject.

"Stop trying to change the subject, Elizabeth." Damon warned, and I groaned.

"Damon, just drop it okay?" I begged. I've been thinking too much about him lately, even more than usual. I really didn't want to discuss how he ripped my beating heart from my chest- emotionally, not physically.

"You really think that I don't know how that is, Elizabeth? I mean, it's not like I got stuck in a love triangle with my brother or anything." Damon said sarcastically.

"I'm not saying that you don't know what it's like to be heartbroken, Damon. I see it in your eyes every goddamn day, but I just don't want to talk about it, okay?" I argued, and Damon flinched before his eyes steeled.

"You think I look heartbroken, Elizabeth? You're not nearly as good as hiding your heartache as you think you are." He snapped, and I flinched slightly. That's what Jeremy said too.

"I just- I can't tell you, Damon. I will when I'm ready, I promise. But there's' really not much to tell. I fell in love with him, he killed me. And even 146 years later, I'm still not over him." I said quietly.

That was the cold truth that I had been trying to avoid for my entire undead life. I was still hurting, just like Damon was still hurting, and Stefan- even though he had Elena to numb a lot of that pain- and Jeremy too.

There was silence following my words. It wasn't awkward necessarily, but it wasn't comfortable either.

"I need liquor."

"I need chocolate."

I smirked at Damon, as he went to the bar. We had had enough of a sad, comparing heartache sibling moment. I needed chocolate, and he needed to get drunk.

It was nighttime, and the air was moist as I walked to an ice cream shop that was a few blocks away. I thought about that heartache that I had hidden for such a long time. It was a dull ache in my heart, similar to the burn of thirst in my throat. After a while, I learned to ignore both of them. So I only realized as I walked into the ice cream shop, that the ache in my heart wasn't really there anymore.

The only question was when it went away. I knew that finding my brothers had something to do with it, but something in my head told me that a certain recovering drug addict was a major part too.

It was ironic, how I meant to fix Jeremy Gilbert, yet he was fixing me.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: bloody alanna for reviewing!

~Abby!


	14. falling slowly

**Chapter thirteen**

Falling slowly

_Elizabeth_

"Jeremy, get your lazy ass up!"

A week had passed, and in that week Jeremy and I were closer than ever. He hadn't drunk or done drugs since I stole his stash, and I hadn't even thought about _him _since my conversation with Damon at the grill. I was waiting for Poppy to show up, and with the Founders Ball in three days I was sure that she would then.

"Ellie, it's a Sunday!" he moaned, covering his head with a pillow.

"Come on, I have so much planned! We're going on an adventure, Jer!" I said cheerfully, jumping on his bed.

"It should be illegal, to be awake before nine in the morning." He mumbled, before sitting up. He was shirtless, and his hair was messy. He looked adorable, and I stared out his window to avoid looking at his chest.

"So, what is this great adventure we're going on?" he asked, getting up and stretching. He was completely oblivious to my dilemma.

"A surprise. Get dressed and meet me downstairs in ten. Wear comfortable clothes, and you'll probably want some water. I'll be waiting with coffee." I said, before walking out of his room.

Downstairs, Elena was yawning and pouring herself coffee. "I'm kidnapping your brother today." I told her, stealing a piece of her toast.

"Keep him," she teased, and I grinned.

"Any word on Poppy?" she asked, and I shook my head, sitting down at the table with her.

"Lily's been asking around, and there's no sign of her. Poppy might be here as we speak, but she won't give us any sign until she has the proper audience and location. So I'm just going to live life until she shows her face, 'cause there's nothing any of us can do until Poppy wants us to know where she is." I sipped my coffee, frowning slightly when I thought about Lily.

She'd been acting strange lately, especially whenever Damon was around or mentioned. I was worried that she was falling for him, but Lily promised that she and Damon were just friends. Lily had never lied to me before.

"I just want to say thank you, for helping Jeremy. He's completely better, and you managed that within a week. I've been trying for almost a year and nothing." Elena shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "I don't know how you do it."

"If I tell you, then I'd have to kill you." I teased, just as Jeremy walked down the stairs.

"You promised coffee?" he asked me, and I gave him his cup.

"We should be off. Later Elena." I said, grabbing Jeremy's hand and pulling him towards the door.

"We're going on an adventure." Jeremy told his sister dryly, but he had a grin on his lips.

"Have fun." Elena smiled, as Jeremy and I walked out of the house.

"Oh, we will." I promised her cheerfully. "Besides, every minute with Elizabeth Salvatore is fun. You just never know what I'm gonna do next."

_**~LG~**_

"Are we there yet?" Jeremy whined for the thousandth time, as I drove my car to our adventure location.

I rolled my eyes. "No Jeremy Gilbert, we aren't. Like we weren't two minutes ago, or four minutes ago, or thirty seconds ago." I said.

"Why can't I know where we're going?" he asked, drinking his coffee.

"Because it'll ruin the surprise. Now hush, and let me drive." I said, changing radio stations.

It was ten minutes later, when we pulled to a stop to the side of a deserted road. All that was around us were trees and a semi-blocked trail. I got out of my car and gestured for Jeremy to do the same.

"Come on, if we hurry we'll be there by lunch." I said, and Jeremy apprehensively followed me along the trail.

"How'd you find this place?" Jeremy asked after a while of kicking branches aside.

"My brothers and I discovered it when we were kids. We used to hang out in here all the time, hiding from my father. I haven't been back in a very long time." I said, smiling nostalgically.

"You say that you grew up here Ellie, but I don't remember you. Or Stefan, or Damon." Jeremy frowned, and I stiffened slightly.

"I did really grow up in one place Jeremy, we moved around a lot. But we came back here a lot to visit my uncle, and that's when we discovered this place. Technically, I didn't grow up here, but I like to say that I did." I lied, feeling guilty.

Jeremy bought my lie, and we walked in silence for a few minutes. I was lost in past memories about my childhood, and jumped slightly when Jeremy spoke.

"You know, it's not fair that you know about Vicki and Anna, and I don't know about the guy who broke your heart."

I thought about his words. "You know about him. Kind of." I said. In the past week, I had found out more about Anna and Vicki, and had decided that Jeremy wasn't over either of them.

"Not really, I don't know his name. I don't know how he broke your heart. I don't know if you're still into him." Jeremy said, and I sighed. I had managed a week without thinking about him, and I guess a week was too long.

"For the sake of today, we can refer to him as 'the biggest jackass to ever exist' or just 'Jackass' to shorten it. He broke my heart a lot of different ways, but the final straw was when I caught him screwing some whore. And honestly, no, not really. It's been a lot better, being here. I've… let him go a lot more than I had before. But he was my first love, and you never forget your first love." I smiled slightly at him.

I could see the outline of my secret hideaway now. We were almost a mile away. I heard Jeremy sigh.

"I'm sorry Ellie. If I knew who he was, I'd kick his ass for you." He said, squeezing my arm.

I laughed, even though I knew that he could kill Jeremy before Jeremy could even think to run. It was still sweet though.

As we walked, my mind went back to a particularly painful memory.

_1864, Mystic Falls, Virginia_

_I moaned slightly, feeling his warm lips against my neck. His fangs pricked my skin, and I knew that he wanted to bite me._

"_Does it have to be the neck? My father did not believe me when I tried to convince him that the bite mark was just a bruise, last time." I asked, my dress half off, and my hair spread out around me._

_He groaned, and kissed my neck. Then he kissed down to my stomach, and I sighed slightly as he bit me. The first few seconds hurt, but after it felt pretty good- if the vampire who was biting you was being careful. Which he was._

_His lips went back to mine, the blood on his lips smearing around my mouth. I sighed in content, as he removed my dress without our lips breaking._

_After making love, I dozed, completely naked, with my head on his chest. He just played with a lock of my hair, and pulled the blanket tighter around our bodies._

"_I love you," I said suddenly, and I felt him stiffen beneath me. "I know that you don't believe in love, that it's a vampire's greatest weakness, but I do."_

_He didn't say anything for a while, as he contemplated my words. "Go to sleep, Elizabeth." He said softly, kissing my forehead._

_I closed my eyes, and did as he told me to. _

"Ellie?"

I stared blankly at Jeremy, and blinked at him. "Huh?" I asked, confused.

"You were zoning out." He said, and I thought that he knew what- or who- I was thinking about.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I was thinking about him. Sorry."

"Nah, its fine." He smiled slightly, as the sun shone down brightly on us. "I catch myself thinking about Anna and Vicki all the time."

Seconds passed, and then I asked quietly, "Do you still love them?"

He didn't answer right away. "I don't know," he said finally. "I guess so, I'm definitely not completely over them, but I think about them less, I miss them less. I'll always miss them, but it doesn't… it doesn't hurt like it used to."

"Yeah, I get what you mean. I'm getting over him, but I think that to let them go completely, we need to actually start dating, you know? Can't be lonely losers forever." I grinned at him, hip bumping him.

I've seen other guys- mostly vampires- since 1864. Most of the relationships were just sex, and none of them lasted long. It was hard to be in a committed relationship when you still thought about the man who broke your heart daily.

"Speak for yourself," he teased, bumping me back. I laughed, and Jeremy grinned. It faltered after a few seconds, and he said, "I've been thinking about that actually. You know Mallory Price from our bio class? She asked me to the founder's ball on Tuesday."

A feeling I could only connect to jealousy flooded through me. "Oh? Did she now?" I tried to sound interested, to sound happy for him, but I was gritting my teeth.

"I didn't give her an answer yet, but I don't know… I don't think I'm over them yet." He sighed, and I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. His hand made mine look tiny, and they were rough and calloused.

"You'll never completely move on until you find someone to move on for. Maybe Mallory's that someone." I shrugged, though I secretly wanted to tear Mallory's throat out.

"Yeah, you're right. I think I'll tell her yes." He smiled, completely oblivious to my jealousy. But weren't all boys blind when it came to girl's feelings?

"Awesome." I said, trying to smile. It came out as a glower.

My unreasonable jealousy was pushed to the side when we came to a large cave, blended in with the trees and moss. I beamed, and tugged Jeremy's hand.

"Come on, we're here." I told him, practically dragging him into the cave. He looked apprehensive, but followed me inside the dark, wet cave anyway.

"Here" I said, pulling two flashlights from my packback and giving him one. Then I turned on my flashlight, and shined it across the walls.

The yellow light caught drawings on the walls, drawings that I was surprised were still there. I smiled though, and walked to them. I could still see eight year old Elizabeth, ten year old Stefan, and fifteen year old Damon drawing them.

_Mystic Falls Virginia, 1857_

"_Stefan, you are making me look like a horse," Damon complained, pushing Stefan away from where he was trying to draw our family with paint Damon had sweet talked Melody Masters into giving us._

"_Maybe you just look like that in real life, Damon." He retorted, pushing him back._

_I laughed, and then went back to painting my wall. I was in the middle of painting a very bright flower, when Damon picked me up._

"_So that is funny Lizzie?" he asked with a grin, as he started spinning me around the room. I giggled, and dropped my red paint onto the ground, causing it to splatter all over us._

"_You have a horse face…" I giggled, and Stefan laughed from behind us._

"_You are going to get it, Lizzie." Damon threatened, before tickling me._

"_No! S-st-stop it D-D-D-Damon!" I screamed out from between laughs._

_Damon laughed, and let me go. I fell to the ground, my hands falling into the paint. My dress was ruined by it, and Mother would yell at me later, but I didn't care. This was just another day in the life long adventure I had with my brothers. One day we were painting caves, and the next we were playing a day long game of hide and seek in the wheat fields behind our house._

"_Damon? Stefan?" I asked sweetly, and they turned around from the wall that held the painting of the Salvatore family._

"_Yes, Lizz-"Stefan started to ask, before I took my bucket of paint and splattered it onto them._

_They just stood there, covered in blue paint, until Damon grabbed green paint and Stefan black. And they started chasing me._

"_You are so done, Lizzie." Damon laughed, before pouring paint over my head._

"Took me a damn week to get that paint out of my hair," I muttered, tracing the flowers I had painted 154 years ago.

"What?" Jeremy asked, looking at the family picture Stefan had painted. Damon did look a bit like a horse.

"Nothing," I said quickly, smiling secretly to myself. I walked over to him, and stared at my full name "Elizabeth Alessandra Salvatore" written across a wall in my eight year old handwriting. It was crossed out, and "Lizzie," was written below it. I grinned, as I remembered hitting Damon for doing that.

"So you guys did this? All of this?" Jeremy asked, and I nodded.

"One of my favorite memories is painting this cave. We had a hell of a time doing it, too. Me and my brothers." I said with a smile on my face.

"You guys are close, aren't you?" he asked, leaning against a stone wall of the cave.

I nodded. "I'm close with them, they're just not close with each other." I muttered. In the week I've been in Mystic Falls, Stefan and Damon's relationship hadn't improved. There were still snarky comments and jabs, and I was starting to give up hope on them ever being brothers again.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" he asked.

I shook my head. "A long story Jer, maybe I'll tell you it someday." I sighed, leaning next to him on the wall.

Minutes of comfortable, thoughtful silence passed. "You know, I have a friend you can go to the ball with." Jeremy said, pushing his dark hair out of his face.

I raised my eyebrows. "One of your stoner friends? No thank you." I said, absentmindedly tracing my name on the wall.

"No, not one of my stoner friends, one of my art friends. His name's Ryan, and he thinks you're hot." He smirked, and I smiled slightly.

"I don't know Jer…" I sighed, not wanting to date this Ryan.

"Come on, 'the only way to move on is to find someone to move on for.'" He smirked as he quoted me.

I sighed. "Fine, I'll go with him to the damn founder's ball. But if he's a dud, 'I'm going to kick your ass." I smirked.

"Deal." He grinned, and I smiled slightly. His eyes seemed to sparkle as he looked at me, and before I knew it, we were both leaning into each other.

I would've kissed Jeremy Gilbert right then and there if my phone hadn't rung.

We both jumped apart, an awkward silence settling around us, as I answered my phone. It was Stefan, wondering where I was.

I walked out of the cave for better reception, the whole time thinking about how I was falling for Jeremy Gilbert.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **I think I'm starting to tick people off, with all this teasing about mystery guy. But I want to get Jeremy and Elizabeth going before I bring him in.

Thank you to: hplover1616, vdemily, HawthorneTree, and funnygirlash101 for reviewing!

~Abby :)


	15. drama

**Chapter fourteen**

Drama

_Elizabeth_

"Ow! Lily, that hurts!"

"Well, if you stop wiggling around like a worm, I'd stop burning you." Lily muttered, as she curled my hair.

I flinched, as she burned my ear this time, but decided not to say anything. Lily was going to snap my neck the next time I whined about her burning me.

"So, we have the plan set, right? We observe and if there's any sign of Poppy, we get Bonnie to cast the spell in the tomb, and then I'll lure Poppy there. I want to get this done with tonight." Lily said, as she released the last curl from that damn curling iron.

"Yeah, about that, I sort of have a date tonight." I bit my lip, as I got up and walked across the room to my lacy blue dress.

"What?"

My head snapped to Damon, who was glaring at me. "You have a date? Tonight? When we're trying to trap the crazy bitch who wants both of you dead?" Damon shook his head, like I needed my priorities put into check.

"It wasn't exactly my idea, Damon." I said bitterly, while Lily looked only mildly surprised that I had a date.

"So, cancel it." Damon said like it was obvious.

I just rolled my eyes. "I can't, I already said I would. Besides, you're just being an over-protective brother. It's fine"

Damon looked ready to argue, but then Lily interrupted. "It's fine, Damon. We can work around the date." She soothed him, before pushing him towards the door. "Go, we need to get ready. Go make sure that Bonnie's set, in case it goes down tonight.

I sighed, as my brother left. I didn't want to go on this date, but I was afraid that Jeremy might think I was into him if I didn't go out with Ryan. It was stupid, having a crush on a recovering drug addict who was still hurting over his last two relationships. It was even stupider when you were a 161 year old vampire who's heart was still broken from your first love. But that was the thing with love- you never got to choose who you fell for.

**~LG~**

"You look really pretty tonight." Ryan said nervously, as we waited in line to greet the mayor and his wife.

Ryan was cute, in that best friend, boy-next-door type. He had eyes the color of chocolate, and if I was the 15 year old sophomore I pretended to be, I would've fallen for him. But I found him only tolerable, as I impatiently brushed a curl out of my face.

"Thanks," I said in a bored voice, and Ryan's confidence continued to falter at my lack of response to his endless supply of compliments.

"Hey, there you guys are."

I grinned at Jeremy, as he and Mallory joined us in line. I glowered at Mallory, who was a small blonde with a lot of curls and bright blue eyes. She was pretty, with a nice smile, and I always thought she was nice before she asked Jeremy out. Now she was just the blonde slut in the short pink dress.

"Hey man," Ryan looked relieved to see Jeremy and Mallory. I smoothed down my dress, as the boys made easy conversation about whatever boys talked about.

"Hey Elizabeth," Mallory smiled kindly, as she looked me up and down. "You look really pretty tonight. I love your dress."

What a bitch.

I became more irritated with the blonde, as she complimented me. I wished she would act like a bitch, so I could hate her without feeling guilty. So I could crush on her date without feeling guilty.

"Thanks, you look really good too, Madison." I fake smiled at her, as we reached the front of the line.

"It's Mallory." She frowned slightly at me. I just shrugged.

"Whatever." I said, before turning my attention to Mister and Missus Lockwood.

"Elizabeth Salvatore, a pleasure to meet you." Mr. Lockwood said, shaking my hand firmly. I smiled back brightly.

"The pleasure is all mine, mayor." I said, hoping that they would invite me in.

"You can all come in- enjoy the party." Mrs. Lockwood said, and Mallory and Jeremy walked in together, holding hands. Ryan held out his arm, but I just marched in by myself.

Music filled the room, and people were gathered in groups all around. I spotted Stefan and Elena, and walked towards them. Ryan watched me leave, and just sighed before walking over to a group of guys.

"Hey," I said cheerfully, taking Stefan's drink from him and tossing it back.

He frowned at me, and took the empty glass back. "Did you meet Jeremy's date yet?" Elena asked me, her eyes flitting over to her baby brother.

"Yeah, she's a such a bitch." I rolled my eyes, and Elena stared dumb founded at me.

"What do you mean? I thought Mallory was nice." She said, her eyebrows furrowing.

"I know, the curls hide the bitchiness pretty well. But we were in line, and then she had the nerve to say that I looked good tonight." I scoffed and rolled my eyes again.

"Wow, she has got some nerve." Stefan said sarcastically, and I just glared at him.

"You don't understand how girls work, Stefan." I dismissed, but Elena raised her eyebrows.

"I like to think that I know how girls work, and I don't see how that's bitchy." She said, and I sighed.

"Just trust me, Mallory's not good enough for him. I mean, how short is that dress? _Slut._" I sang, taking a glass of champagne from a young waiter, who smiled flirtatiously at me. I ignored him.

"Lizzie, your dress is shorter than hers." Stefan pointed out.

I glared at him. Did they need me to spell out how jealous I was for them? I brushed a curl out of my face, and took a sip of my champagne.

My eyes widened, and I spit it out, feeling like I swallowed liquid fire. I dropped my glass, but Stefan caught it before it fell, and he helped me stand up straight.

"Elizabeth!" he said, moving us away from wandering eyes.

"_Vervain…" _I gasped out, coughing. I took deep breaths of air, and managed to stand by myself. My mouth still tasted like that damn plant though.

"Here," Elena said, giving me a glass of water, like she was reading my mind.

I cleaned out my mouth with the water, and then spit it back into the glass. I set the glass onto an empty table, and turned back to my brother and his girlfriend.

"Poppy's here." I told them in a business-like tone, already looking for the blonde. "This is just like her, letting us know she's here. Though we should expect something bigger to happen. And soon, Poppy's not a very patient person."

"What happened?"

We all looked to see Damon and Lily approaching us. "Long story short, Poppy just spiked my drink." I said, still scanning the room.

"I'll go get Bonnie." Lily said, backing away. "You guys know the plan."

As Lily left, Elena turned to me. "We should get Jeremy out of here." She told me.

"I'll go do it." I said, leaving. I barely heard Stefan start to argue with Elena about leaving, when I rounded the corner, and ran into the waiter from before.

"Hey!" he said a little quickly, and I checked him out. He was cute, with messy hair and scars covering his arms. He had to be in his early teens.

"Hi," I sighed, turning to walk around him. I didn't have time for him.

"I'm Jackson." He said, following me.

"Ellie," I sighed, stopping since I knew he wasn't going to give up.

"You look really good tonight, Ellie." He grinned, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Jackson!"

We both looked to see a middle-aged grumpy man hurrying towards him, looking pissed. "Stop flirting and do your job." He snapped, not sparing me a glance as he walked away.

"Sorry," Jackson said sheepishly, picking up empty glasses.

"No problem. Boss?" I asked, looking around for Jeremy.

"Uncle, but he acts more like a boss." He muttered. Then his expression changed, and he grinned at me. "I'll see you around, Ellie?"

"Probably not." I said, already walking away. My main priority was to get Jeremy out of here, out of Poppy's reach. I didn't have time to flirt with hot waiters with family issues.

I looked around for five minutes, and couldn't find him anywhere. Refused to give up until I found him though, and only stopped my searching when I heard a loud crash coming from a room.

I walked into the room, to find my brothers fighting. Damon had Stefan by the neck, against the wall, but Stefan got away by smashing a bottle across Damon's face.

"God dammit!"

I ripped Stefan off of Damon, and threw him into the wall, and then threw Damon into the other. I was glaring at them in anger, and made sure to stand in between them.

"Tonight? Really? We're trying to get rid of Poppy tonight, and you two are fighting?" I snapped, and smashed a chair in frustration.

I took deep breaths, trying to calm down. "I knew that if I ever did find you guys, things would be different. 146 years passed, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. But I never thought it would be this bad. That you two would hate each other because you fell in love with the same selfish bitch." I said quietly, gritting my teeth at the thought of Katherine.

"But for me, can we all just pretend that we're a normal human family, that doesn't hate each other? At least for tonight? Because I have enough things going on right now, without having to break you two up because Damon said a dick comment, and Stefan retaliated." I turned and walked out of the room before they could respond.

I walked towards the dance floor, only to find Jeremy. He was alone, and didn't look too happy with me.

"I'm not in the mood, Jeremy. So please, do me a favor and leave the party. I'll argue with you if I have to, but I'd prefer a drama free minute tonight." I sighed.

"Why do I have to leave?" Jeremy asked, confused.

"Because… because something's going to happen tonight, and I need you out of the way." I said, leaning against a wall.

"Fine," he shook his head, distracted. "This party is boring anyway."

I smiled, and turned to leave. But then Jeremy caught my arm. "Ryan was complaining about how you weren't giving him a chance, Ellie. And then Mal said you were being a bitch to her." He told me bluntly.

"Oh, 'Mal?' how cute, you already have nicknames for each other." I said sarcastically, and Jeremy glared at me.

"Jesus, Elizabeth. What's wrong with you? I'm trying to move on, like you were pushing me to. I _like _Mallory, and Ryan is a good guy. I'm trying to move on, Elizabeth, why are you trying to stop me? Why won't you give Ryan a chance?" he said, and I sighed.

"I don't have time right now, Jeremy." I said, moving away from him.

"Just tell me, Elizabeth." He pushed, and I finally snapped. With the stress of Poppy, my anger with my brothers, and my jealousy of Jeremy and Mallory, I finally snapped.

"Because I like you Jeremy, okay? I don't want to give Ryan a chance, and I don't want you to be with Mallory because I like _you." _I snapped.

Jeremy stared wide-eyed at me, and I froze when I realized what I said. I turned and ran away from him, right into Bonnie.

"Hey," she said, not noticing the look of horror on my face. "Elena told me that Poppy's here. I just have to get my book out of my car, and we're good to go-"

"Wait, Elena? Didn't Lily ever get to you?" I asked, a foreboding feeling sinking into me.

"No, why?" she asked, confused.

"Shit." I cursed, and pulled out my phone. I called Lily five times, but I just kept getting her machine.

"What's wrong Ellie?" bonnie asked.

"Poppy got Lily, and I have no idea where the hell she is."

_Lily_

Lily searched for Bonnie all over the Lockwood mansion. But she was also on edge for her sister, who knew when poppy would strike?

She heard footsteps behind her, and instantly stiffened. She looked around, but even with her enhanced eyesight, she couldn't see anybody. She was alone.

Lily kept walking, and then took out her phone to call Bonnie again. She was anxious to get this over with, to get rid of her sister once and for all.

She heard footsteps again, and whirled around. There was no one, but she had an idea who was following her.

"Very mature, Poppy. Just come and face me like the 945 year old vampire you are." Lily said patiently, her eyes scanning the hallway.

Lily gasped suddenly, as she felt somebody sink a needle into her skin and inject her with something. The vervain weakened her, but it wasn't enough to put her down.

She pushed the human into a wall, and knocked him out. Then she was jumped by another one, and then another one. After four injections of vervain, Lily finally passed out.

_Damon_

Damon walked away from his brother, his sister's words running through his head. He knew that he was hurting her with his hatred of Stefan. And it hurt him that she was hurting.

He thought about what Lily had told him about her and Poppy. Would that be him and Stefan in 800 years? Would Stefan be trying to trap him in a tomb? Or worse- try to kill him?

Hating Stefan, it got really tiring sometimes. And lately, his heart wasn't in it. It was like he only pissed him off to go through the motions, because it was expected of him. And five minutes ago, when he had tried to strangle him, Damon didn't even remember why they had fought.

But it wasn't easy, to try to fix their relationship. Damon couldn't just say to Stefan, "Hey, let's be brothers again." It wasn't that simple. Too much had happened between them. And like Elizabeth had said, things could never be like they were in the 1800's. they could never be the same again.

Damon shook his head, and looked around for his sister. He wouldn't think about that right now. He'd save Elizabeth from the crazy bitch who was trying to kill her, and then he'd focus on the Stefan issue.

Suddenly, Damon looked up to see his brother at the end of the hallway. He wasn't alone, there was a man dressed as a waiter with him. And Damon just looked up in time to see the waiter inject Stefan with vervain.

"Stefan!" Damon exclaimed, and made to help his little brother, but then he was stabbed with a needle in the neck.

Damon tried to struggle, but he couldn't fight the vervain. And soon, everything went black.

_Elizabeth_

"We need to find my brothers." I said, already looking for them. My Jeremy crisis was pushed aside, but not forgotten.

"I haven't seen them at all." Bonnie said, following me.

"Where's Elena?" I asked, only to see Elena walking towards us.

"What's wrong?" she asked, seeing my grim expression.

"Poppy has Lily, so we need to hurry. Where are my brothers?" I asked her.

"I saw them almost a half an hour ago." Elena said, and my alarm went off again.

"You don't think-?" Elena asked me, as I hurried through the crowd. "Why would Poppy want them?"

"Maybe to get to me? I don't know." I said, pulling my hair in frustration.

My eyes drifted around the party, and stopped on the cute waiter, Jackson. He was filling glasses with champagne, and putting… vervain in them.

I stiffened, an Idea forming in my head. That idea was only supported, when I saw the mayor talking with Jackson's uncle/boss. I managed to pick up their conversation.

"-Caught three so far, but we expect that there's more." He said in a slight southern drawl.

"The council is so glad that you came here to help us with our vampire problem." The mayor said in a voice only politicians had.

"You should be thanking the anonymous tipper we had. She called my nephew Jackson, telling him that there were vampires in Mystic Falls." He said, and I inhaled loudly.

I turned to face Bonnie and Elena, my eyes wide. "We were wrong." I whispered, dread filling me.

"What, Elizabeth?" Elena asked, confused.

"Poppy isn't here." I shook my head. "We're dealing with vampire hunters."

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: vdemily, funnygirlash101, bloody alanna, TinyDancer365, Pickle Paige, and mindyrainbowpants for reviewing!

Reviews are love :)

~Abby


	16. freaking vampire hunters

**Chapter fifteen**

Freaking vampire hunters

_Damon_

Damon groaned, as he came into consciousness. If he and Stefan hadn't been drinking vervain every day, he'd still be out. Damon's strength was still gone, as he hopelessly tugged at the chains binding him to a chair. He looked to around the empty room with stone walls, lit by torches. They had to be somewhere under the Lockwood mansion.

He looked to the side, to see Stefan tied up next to him. He was still knocked out, but seemed to be stirring. On Damon's other side, Lily was unconscious, her dark hair falling in her face. He gritted his teeth in anger, imagining what he would do to those god damn hunters that did this. You could try to kill Damon all you wanted, but when you went after his brother and his friend- his only friend, really- then things got personal.

He heard a groan come from Stefan, as he struggled to gain consciousness. Damon tried to snap the chains, but he was still too weak.

"What happened?" Stefan mumbled, taking in the other two vampires tied up in a room with him.

"Vampire hunters happened. Freaking vampire hunters." Damon answered, giving another tug.

Suddenly, the door opened, letting in light. Damon barely made out the man who attacked his brother.

"You two shouldn't be up already." He frowned, pulling a shot of vervain from his jacket. Damon groaned, as he stabbed him in the neck with it, and injected the entire thing into him.

He fought off the vervain as long as possible, but eventually, Damon passed out.

_Elizabeth_

"We need a plan, Elizabeth," Elena argued, as I started walking out of the ball room.

"Plans are overrated, Elena. You can plan all you want, but the ending will never play out the way you planned it to." I said, as I watched Bonnie run to get her Grimoire.

"Elizabeth, you can't just walk in there-"Elena continued to argue, but I silenced her with a look.

"I'm going to get my brothers and my best friend back, Elena. I don't know how I'll do it, but you have my word that I will." I said, and my eyes wandered over Jackson.

So waiter boy was a vampire hunter, who was flirting with me. We could put Romeo and Juliet to shame, with our star-crossed flirtation. I smirked, as I walked over to him.

"Hey Jackson." I said sweetly, and he grinned when he saw me.

"Ellie," he said cheerfully.

"I was wondering if you could walk me to my car?" I asked, and Jackson nodded almost too quickly.

"Oh yeah, sure." He set his tray down, and looked around for his uncle, who was probably with my brothers and Lily. "Come on."

I followed him outside to the parking lot, just winking at Elena as she stared at us. As soon as Jackson and I were alone, I grabbed him by the neck, and slammed him against a tree.

"What the hell-"his eyes widened, and he gulped. "You're a vampire."

"You got me," I smirked, before tightening my grip on his neck. "Where are they?"

"G-go to hell." He stuttered, looking terrified. He wasn't very good vampire hunter, probably just starting out.

"Look, you're probably on vervain right now, but I'm not above torturing the information out of you. I'd hate ruining my record of not killing a human, but I'd do it for my brothers and my best friend. Now where are they?" I snapped.

There was silence, and I sighed. "Fine, I hope you're not left-handed." I made to break his left arm, but he stopped me.

"Wait! The vampires are in the tunnels under the house, okay? Please don't kill me." he whimpered.

Without another word, I smashed Jackson's head against the tree trunk, knocking him out. I easily dragged his body, and hid him behind some bushes. Then I walked back into the party.

"Did you kill him?" Elena asked worriedly, as I walked briskly down a hall, towards the basement.

"No time, I don't know how long they plan to keep them alive." I said, pausing when I reached the basement door. No way was I going to let Elena come with me. Stefan would kill me.

"I'm sorry Elena, I'll get you ice later. Promise." I said, hating what I was about to do.

"What are you talking about, Elizabeth?" her eyebrows furrowed, and I bit my lip.

"I'm talking about this."

I smashed Elena's head into a wall, knocking her out. I caught her before she hit the ground though, and put her in a closet gently.

I ran down the basement steps, looking for a trap door of any kind. It took me a few minutes, but I finally found it.

It was already opened, and I jumped the five feet distance, and landed on my feet. I kept my senses alert for any hunter, all the while running as fast as I could.

I turned a corner, to see two men laughing at a joke. I stayed still, and made sure that they were alone before I attacked.

They didn't even see me coming, as I snapped one's neck, and then the other. It gnawed at my humanity, that I had just killed two men who probably had families. But then it occurred to me, that they were trying to take my family away from me, and I stopped feeling guilty.

There was a door at the end of the hall, and I hurried to it. I kicked the door open, and it flew into the room. I saw Damon, Stefan, and Lily all tied up and unconscious, and grinned in relief. They weren't dead.

"Come on Stef," I said, ripping his chains off of him, but he didn't wake up. I sighed, but then moved on to Damon.

"Lizzie?" he barely whispered, his eyes opening slightly.

"Hi big brother," I smiled slightly at him, ripping his chains off. I ran over to Lily, who looked like she wouldn't be waking up for a while. I ripped off her chains, as Damon struggled to stand up.

"Do you think you can carry Lily?" I asked him, and he nodded.

"Just give me a second," he said, running a hand over his face.

I moved over to Stefan, and I got ready to practically carry him, when there was suddenly a terrible pain in my chest.

"Oh, shit." I cursed, as I fell to my knees, clutching the bullet hole in my chest that had just missed my heart.

I looked up to see Jackson's uncle glaring at me. "We've been waitin' for you, sweetheart." He leered at me.

I moaned in pain, as he shot Damon in the stomach, and he fell to the ground. I struggled to get up, to save my family, but I didn't have the strength.

I screamed out in pain, as that bastard shot me again. "What's the matter, sweetheart? Not so tough now that you don't have your super strength. "

I gritted my teeth, and struggled to stand up, but he just shot me again in the knee. I shouted out in pain, and fell to the floor.

His cackles filled the air. "Now which one of you freaks of nature should I kill first? How about the pretty, knocked out one." He made for Lily.

"No!" Damon and I both shouted, despite our bullet wounds. This stopped the hunter, and he turned for Damon instead.

"How about you, pretty boy?" he sneered, aiming his gun for Damon's heart.

"No, Damon!" I whimpered, and then forced myself to stand up.

I gritted my teeth against the pain, and took one shaky step after another. The hunter moved his gun away from Damon, and instead aimed it at me.

"Tryin' to be the hero, sweetheart? Don't you know the first rule of hunting? Never be the hero." He made to pull the trigger, but then I sunk my teeth into his throat.

His blood was full of vervain, but I made sure to rip his throat out before I dropped his body to the floor. I coughed, and wiped my mouth on the back of my hand. I avoided Damon's gaze, as I helped him stand up.

"Lizzie…" he whispered, but I just shook my head. I didn't want to talk about it, not right now.

That was why vampires turned off their humanity. Because most killed for food, and it was so, so painful to kill when you had your humanity on. My own was nagging me, as I helped carry Stefan out of the tunnels.

But I wouldn't turn off my humanity, just to escape some guilt. I would never turn off my humanity again, no matter how intense the pain.

_**~LG~**_

"I still can't believe you knocked Elena out."

I rolled my eyes at Stefan, as Lily got the stubborn bullet out of my chest. Both had had blood- for Stefan, animal- and were back to normal. They knew that I had killed three humans tonight, but there was an unspoken agreement that we wouldn't talk about it.

"Shit." I cursed, as she pulled the wooden bullet out of my skin, and then gave me a glass of blood to heal the damage.

"I had to knock her out; she was dead set on coming with me." I said, as I frowned at the damage done to my dress. It was so pretty, and now it was ruined.

I sighed, and then walked into my bathroom to change into skinny jeans and a black Beatles t-shirt. They were the only reason I survived the sixties.

"Where are you going?" Damon asked, as I walked to the front door.

"Damage control." I said, pulling out my car keys.

"I already took care-"he started to say, but I cut him off.

"Not about the hunters, Damon. Worse." I sighed, before leaving. Now that all the excitement was over, Jeremy and my confession were taking up all my thoughts.

What could I say to fix what I had stupidly admitted? Compel him? I shook my head as I drove. It was a tempting thought, but I wouldn't do that to him.

Slowly, I walked to the front door of the Gilbert house. I knocked hesitantly, half-hoping that he wouldn't answer.

"Hello- oh, hey Elizabeth."

I sighed, as Jeremy avoided my gaze.

"Hi, Jer." I said quietly, rocking back and forth on my feet.

"What do you want?" he asked, and I bit my lip.

"I just- I wanted to say sorry, I guess." I sighed, and looked down at my feet.

"Sorry for telling me that you have feelings for me? It's more of a compliment than an insult, Ellie." He said, and I looked up at him.

"I shouldn't of have told you. You have so much going on, and you're dating Mallory-"I started talking fast, but he cut me off.

"I ended it with Mallory. She's cool and all, but I think we're more friends than we are boyfriend and girlfriend." He admitted, and I smiled despite myself.

"Really?" I beamed, and then caught myself. Jeremy laughed, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Still, it's just- we're friends, Elizabeth. We're really good friends, and I don't know where I'd be if I didn't have you. I don't want to ruin that, I don't want to lose you." He said, and I nodded fiercely.

"I know, besides, you're not completely over Anna and Vicki, and I'm not completely over him. It'd be too messy, somebody would end up getting hurt." I babbled, and he nodded.

"Right, right. So, friends?" he asked, and I nodded and faked a smile.

"Friends." I agreed, my stomach sinking despite all the reasons we both had listed on why we wouldn't work.

"Night, Ellie." Jeremy said, edging into the house. I nodded, and backed away towards my car.

"Good night, Jer." I forced a smile again, as he shut the door. My smile instantly dropped when he was gone.

I didn't _want _to be friends. I didn't know how I would be able to handle, just being his friend. Slowly, I made my way to my car, when the front door suddenly burst open.

"You know what I just realized?" Jeremy asked, as he walked towards me. "Our friendship's already ruined! I know that you have feelings for me, and I always thought that it was obvious that I was into you."

"Yeah," I agreed, walking towards him almost automatically. "And besides, 'You'll never completely move on until you find someone to move on for.'" I quoted myself with a smile.

"Exactly, and so what, if somebody gets hurt? What's life without a little risk?" He said, just as we reached each other.

"It's not life at all." I responded, my heartbeat picking up. I heard his do the same.

I stretched up, and then pressed his lips against mine. Fireworks went off in my head, as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He kissed my back roughly and a little sloppily, but I learned that was how Jeremy kissed, and I loved it.

As I was kissing Jeremy in his front yard, I realized that that was the first time in a long time that I wasn't feeling some numbed pain. It was the first time in a long time that I was completely, blissfully happy. And nothing, absolutely nothing could ruin that moment.

_Lily_

Lily walked to the fridge for more blood. She was still feeling weak from the attack earlier that night. She heard somebody in the living room, and decided to pour Damon a glass of blood too.

She walked into the living room with two glasses of blood, only to find it empty. She frowned, but sat down anyway, and sipped her blood.

Lily's head whirled around, as she heard somebody run around her. "What the hell, Damon?" she frowned, but the living room was empty. The house was empty.

Lily suddenly gasped in pain, as she fell to her knees. A wooden stake was sticking out of her stomach, and she managed to pull it out, while gritting her teeth.

"Who's there?" she snapped, her eyes scanning the room.

"Hello sister," she heard a voice behind her say. "Long time, no see."

Lily whirled around and stared at the beautiful blonde woman smirking at her.

"Poppy."

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: HawthorneTree, Ameliathejustwolf, mindyrainbowpants, Nerw20, Pickle Paige, and vdemily for reviewing!

I love reviews :)

~Abby!


	17. the beginning

**Chapter sixteen**

The beginning

_Elizabeth_

"'Do you remember all the city lights on the water?

You saw me start to believe for the first time,

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter,

You are the best thing that's ever been mine.'" I sang loudly and cheerfully, as I skipped from the bathroom to my bedroom.

"Wow, you seem awfully cheerful, especially since Poppy's here." Damon noted, appearing at my door, as I hummed along to Taylor Swift on the radio.

"I'm not that cheerful," I defended myself, brushing my hair.

"Lizzie, you're singing Taylor Swift." He argued, raising his eyebrows.

"She's a really good singer." I shrugged, grabbing my back pack. I turned off the radio, and then skipped to the stairs, Damon following me.

"Seriously, Lizzie, It's starting to get creepy." He complained, as I made my way to the coffee machine.

Stefan was already there, and raised his eyebrows at my cheerful grin. "What's wrong with you?" he asked, as I whistled while pouring a cup of coffee.

"This is called 'being happy' Stef. You should really try it, its fun." I said, taking a gulp of the hot coffee.

"She knows that Poppy's here, right?" he asked Damon, who nodded.

"Just because something bad happened, doesn't mean that we don't have a reason to be happy. I mean, come on, we're alive, aren't we?" I said, grinning.

Both of my brothers' eyebrows shot up. "What did you eat for breakfast this morning? Unicorns and rainbows?" Damon asked, as I walked to the front door with my coffee.

"I'm not going to let your pessimistic attitude get me down, Damon." I told him, as Lily came down the stairs, looking grumpy.

"Morning Lily." I called to her cheerfully, as she walked to the fridge for blood.

"Ignore Susie Sunshine; we don't know what's up with her." Damon told her, as I patiently waited for Stefan to drive us to school.

"What are you talking about, Damon? It's not like my evil bitch of a sister is in town or anything." She said sarcastically, ripping a bag of blood open so hard it splattered all over her.

"Shit." She cursed, wiping up the blood.

Damon and Stefan exchanged looks. "So we have Little Miss Sunshine and Miss PMS. Awesome." Damon said sarcastically.

"Can we go now, Stefan? I don't want to be late for school." I asked cheerfully, ignoring the digs about my cheerful attitude. I was in a great mood, and nothing could ruin it. Not even Poppy.

Stefan followed me to his car, his eyebrows still raised. "I don't see why you're so happy, Lizzie. Poppy's here, who knows what she's going to do."

"But she hasn't done anything yet, Stefan. I'm going to be happy until she does something, I'm not going to let fear and worry consume me." I said, getting into the passenger side of the car.

Yes, Poppy was finally here. But I had Jeremy now, so they balanced each other out. I wasn't going to share my new relationship with my brothers yet, because with their over-protective nature, they'd probably kill him. Elena didn't know either, because she'd tell my brothers.

When we reached school, I looked around for Jeremy. I grinned when I saw him; talking with a couple guys he met in an art class I talked him into taking. I didn't even frown when I saw that Ryan was with them.

"See you later Stefan," I called to him, already making a bee line for Jeremy.

"Be careful, Lizzie!" he said, but I just waved impatiently at him.

"Hey guys," I said, beaming up at Jeremy. My hand itched to hold his, but I restrained myself.

Ryan avoided my gaze, but Jeremy grinned back down at me. The same blissful expression that was on my face was on his.

"See you later guys," he said to his friends, before his hand wrapped around my wrist and he pulled me into the school, and to a deserted closet.

I slammed the door shut, just as Jeremy kissed me. I smiled into the kiss, and wrapped my arms around his neck. I playfully bit down on his bottom lip, careful that I didn't draw blood. Jeremy's hand went up into my hair, as I opened my mouth slightly.

His tongue met mine, and I sighed. I felt thirst gnawing at me, all because Jeremy was turning me on. I struggled to hold it back, but all I could think about was Jeremy's blood. I moaned slightly, and kissed him roughly.

I could feel my fangs extending, and I broke apart from Jeremy. He panted, as I reined my thirst in. "We should get to class," I told him, breathing heavily.

Jeremy nodded, and followed me out of the closet. We silently made our way to biology, but since we were alone in the halls, he grabbed my hand.

"So, I know we just sort of… got together last night, but can I safely assume that we're dating?" I asked bluntly, now that I had my thirst under control.

Jeremy smirked at me. "You want to be my girlfriend, Ellie?" he teased.

I rolled my eyes, as our fingers intertwined. "Just tell me." I whined, and Jeremy laughed.

"Yeah, Ellie, you can safely assume that we're boyfriend and girlfriend- as long as you want to be." He added quickly.

I smiled and stretched up on my toes to kiss him softly. "I guess that wouldn't totally suck." I teased, and he grinned down at me.

I was now Jeremy Gilbert's girlfriend- the last time I felt this human, was when I was human.

_**~LMF~**_

After school, I was at the Grill, doing my geometry homework. I was also keeping an eye out for Poppy.

"Sorry I was so grumpy this morning."

I looked up to see Lily sit down across from me. I smiled sympathetically. "Poppy's in town, you have every right to be bitchy." I told her, looking back down at the problem I was working on.

"So do you, but I don't think that grin has left your face since you woke up this morning." Lily pointed out. "What's up?"

I sighed- she was my best friend for a reason. I looked around to make sure that Elena, Stefan, or Damon wasn't in the grill, and then said, "You have to promise not to tell my brothers."

She raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I promise. This has to be good, though. Are you doing drugs? Did you get married?" Lily's eyes widened, and she gave me a dirty look. "Elizabeth, if you got married and didn't invite me to your wedding, I'm going to be really pissed."

I laughed, and rolled my eyes at her. "Lily, if I ever got married, you would be my maid of honor. But no, I'm not married, and I'm not doing drugs."

I took a deep breath, and grinned widely at her. "Jeremy and I are dating."

Lily's eyes widened. "That would explain it." She smiled at me. "Congrats, Lizzie. I'm happy for you, though I never knew you liked him in the first place."

I shrugged and sipped my drink. "It happened really fast, though I never told you because of Poppy. She was taking up a lot of your time."

We both looked up suddenly, to see Jeremy walking towards us. Lily stood up, so that we could be alone.

"Hey Lily." He greeted her, as he walked up to us.

"Hi Jeremy." She smiled at him. She walked towards the door, but when they passed, I heard her whisper to him, "Break her heart and I will rip yours out."

He raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything as Lily left. He sat down across from me, and I beamed at him. "I'm guessing she knows?" he asked me, as I closed my geometry book.

I nodded. "If you think that threat was bad, prepare yourself for when my brothers find out about us." I told him seriously.

He groaned playfully. "Of course I fall for the girl with the over-protective big brothers. Great." He teased, though I could tell it wasn't all teasing.

"They won't hurt you, trust me. I'll protect you." I said, squeezing his hand across the table.

He smiled, and then sighed. "We need to tell our families about us, don't we?" he said.

"Unless you want our relationship to be restrained to smelly closets and hand holding under the table, then yeah." I said, brushing a lock of hair out of my face.

"I don't know, Ellie, the whole secrecy thing was kind of hot." He smirked at me.

I laughed, when his phone suddenly vibrated, signaling a text. "I gotta go, Ellie. Jenna's trying to make dinner tonight." He shook his head and grinned, like the thought was amusing. Then he stood up.

He kissed me quickly, despite the people who saw us. "I'll call you tonight." He told me, before leaving.

I waved at him, until he walked out of the grill. Then I turned back to my geometry homework. I swear, homework was a lot harder than it was in 1983- the last time I was in high school.

"He's cute Lizzie- but then again, you've always had good taste in guys."

My head snapped up, and I gritted my teeth at the blonde smirking at me from across the table.

"Poppy," I said, my guard up.

"Lizzie," she smirked. "How long has it been? Since 1969, I think."

"It hasn't been long enough, Poppy." I retorted, and she frowned at me.

"Now is that any way to treat an old friend, Lizzie?" she asked, and I ignored her.

"What are you doing here, Poppy? Why can't you just let me be?" I asked, shutting my text book.

"Now where's the fun in that?" she asked, raising a blonde eyebrow. "I swear, your humanity sucked the fun right out of you, Elizabeth."

"I'm fun, Poppy, just not your kind of fun. Not anymore." I said evenly, not taking my eyes off of her. "What are you doing here?"

"So pushy," she sighed, then smirked at me. "I came here to see my old friend and my goody two shoes of a sister. I have to say, Lizzie, you're brothers are really hot. Stefan's a little too _nice _for me- though I heard he was one hell of a ripper, back in the day- but Damon- now Damon's my type." She smirked at me, and I glared.

"You go anywhere near my brothers, Poppy, and I'll rip your head off." I growled, and she just laughed.

"I'd like to see you try." She retorted, and I gritted my teeth. "There's always the boyfriend too, Lizzie. He seems pretty into you, but no man has ever been able to resist my charms."

"You mean the flies you've caught in the web between your legs, slut." I muttered, and she glared at me.

"Watch yourself, Elizabeth. Don't ever forget that I can kill you in a heartbeat." She threatened, but I wasn't afraid.

"Not if I kill you first." I retorted, putting my book in my bag, and standing up. "It's been fun Poppy, but I just remembered what a bitch you are. Later."

I walked away from her, and heard Poppy call to me, "I'm just getting started, Lizzie. If you thought that the hunters at that party last night were bad, you're in for a treat. It's just the beginning."

My eyes widened, and I whirled around to face her. But Poppy was gone.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Chella8181 and Pickle Paige for reviewing!

I love reviews!

~Abby :)


	18. the time bomb

**Chapter seventeen**

The time bomb

_Jeremy_

He had been thinking about how to tell Elena about him and Elizabeth all day. He didn't know how she would react, especially since Elizabeth was her boyfriend's little sister.

Jeremy wasn't looking forward to Stefan and Damon finding out the truth, either. From what Elizabeth had told him, they were very protective of her, and he would be in very serious trouble if he ever hurt her.

Not that Jeremy would ever intentionally hurt Ellie; she was the first girl he had liked since Vicki and Anna. When she was with him, his pain caused by his exes disappeared. He liked Elizabeth a lot, even if their relationship was brand new.

"Elena?" he asked hesitantly, as Jenna cursed in the background, burning the lasagna she was trying to make.

"Sure Jer, what's up?" she asked cheerfully, though there was anxiety in his sister's eyes that he couldn't explain.

"Uh, well I don't really know how to tell you this but… Elizabeth and I are sort of together now." He said awkwardly.

"What?" Elena's eyebrows shot up, and Jeremy sighed.

"Ellie and I are dating. We're a couple." He explained, not really knowing what to expect from her. Would she be happy? Or would she admit that she secretly hated his new girlfriend?

"Oh, wow. I didn't see that coming." Elena said her eyes wide. "I didn't even know that you _liked _her."

"It happened pretty fast. I've been crushing on her for a couple of days now." He explained.

"So you've liked her only for a few days, and now you two are suddenly dating? That seems a little fast to me, Jeremy. Especially since you're not over Vicki and Anna yet." Elena argued, and Jeremy narrowed his eyes at her.

"It's not like I proposed to her, Elena. We're dating, that's it. And the only way I'm going to move on from them is if I try to move on. I like her, Elena, a lot. I thought you did too." He said, frowning.

"I do, Jeremy it's just that-"Elena cut herself off and sighed. She did like Elizabeth; she was the only person to manage to get her brother off of drugs. But Elizabeth was a vampire. It wasn't that she expected her to just use Jeremy as a blood bag; it was that if things kept getting serious between those two, Jeremy would eventually find out the truth. And she didn't want that for her little brother.

"But what, Elena?" Jeremy demanded, and Elena bit her lip.

"I don't want you to get hurt." Elena said finally, and Jeremy glared at her.

"Elizabeth won't. Besides, I wasn't asking you for your input, I was just letting you know that you might find us making out on the couch sometimes." He snapped, turning away from his older sister.

Elena flinched slightly. "Jeremy, I didn't mean it like that-"she tried to say, but Jenna interrupted her, looking irritable.

"Next time I want to make dinner, stop me, okay? Now what do you guys want on your pizza-"the aunt stopped when she noticed how Jeremy was glaring and Elena was biting her lip. "What's going on?"

"Elizabeth and I are dating." Jeremy said bluntly, glaring at his sister.

Jenna broke out into a grin. "Yay! I like her, she's good for you. Besides, I always thought I saw you guys flirting." She said, excited that her nephew caught a good one, like Elena had with Stefan. It must've been a Salvatore thing.

Jeremy smirked dryly at his sister. "See Elena, Jenna likes Elizabeth." He said.

"I never said that!" she exclaimed, and Jenna stared quizzically at her niece.

"You don't like Elizabeth?" she frowned, turning back to Jeremy. But the young boy had already bolted for the door, hoping that his new girlfriend had had better luck telling her siblings about them.

_Elizabeth_

"I can't do it."

Lily frowned at me, looking over the book she had been reading, _Romeo and Juliet. _"I'm reading, Elizabeth." She said, looking back down at her book, engrossed in it. I always found Shakespeare hard to read, but since she lived through it all, and spoke that way for a long time, Lily would have no problem understanding his words.

"Spoiler alert- they die at the end." I said sarcastically.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I know that, Elizabeth. I saw it performed for the first time." She retorted dryly.

"Then I don't know why you're reading it again." I said, perching on the arm of her chair.

"_Romeo and Juliet _is a classic, Lizzie. There isn't a certain amount of times you can read it." She replied, closing her book shut. We've had this argument so many times- R&J was Lily's favorite story. I remember her feeling so scandalized when the DiCaprio movie version came out in 1996. She called it a disgrace to the beautiful tragedy.

"Personally, I think that it's overrated." I shrugged, and Lily scowled at me.

"If I said that about _Gone with the Wind_- movie or book- you would rip my head off." she retorted.

"It's the best book ever written!" I exclaimed, "Along with the movie."

"You only think that way because it takes place in the south during the Civil War, and that's when you grew up." She dismissed.

I opened my mouth to argue, getting lost in our never ending argument on which "star-crossed lovers" book is better. But then I remembered my crisis at hand, and decided to let it go for another day. "Like I said before, I can't do it, Lily."

Lily sighed, knowing exactly what I was talking about. "You have to Elizabeth. They're going to find out eventually."

"I'm just afraid that they'll kill Jeremy. Seriously Lily, I wouldn't put it pass them." I sighed.

"I bet that you're also afraid that the big brothers won't approve of your new relationship." Lily stated wisely, absentmindedly flipping through the much worn pages of her book.

"It doesn't matter to me what they think," I lied, but Lily saw right through me.

"Of course it does, Elizabeth. What they think about you always matters to you." Lily said. "It's perfectly normal too. Before Poppy turned her back on her humanity and we were actually sisters, I needed her approval for everything I did. It's just a little sibling thing, little siblings who didn't like their parents, and instead looked up to their siblings."

I sighed, Lily was right of course. "What if they don't like him?" I asked, closing my eyes.

"It's not that they won't like him, it's that they're worried you'll get hurt. They'll get over it eventually, Lizzie. Just give it time." Lily soothed me, flipping back to her page in her book.

"So I should just tell them?" I asked, biting my lip.

She nodded, not taking her eyes off of the words. "Do it and get it over with. Better that they find out from you instead of walking in on you two kissing. Now leave me, this is my favorite scene." She said, waving me away.

I rolled my eyes, but left Lily to read her book in peace. She was right; I just had to rip it off like a Band-Aid.

"Hey Lizzie." Damon greeted me, as I walked into the kitchen. He shrugged on his jacket, and grabbed his car keys. I frowned at him.

"Where are you going?" I asked, opening up the fridge.

"On a secret mission." He responded, and I rolled my eyes.

"What kind of mission?" I asked a bit snarky.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret, now would it?" he retorted with a smirk.

I opened my mouth to say a smart-ass comment back, when I shut it. I had an idea what he was going to do, and I didn't like it.

"Stay away from Poppy, okay? You have no idea what she's capable of." I told him seriously, closing the fridge.

"I've dealt with my fair share of crazy bitches, Elizabeth. I was in love with one." He told me, and I frowned at hm.

"She sent the vampire hunters here, Damon. She almost got all of us killed, and she wasn't even there." I told him.

This seemed to surprise Damon, but he just shrugged. "She's good, I'll give her that. But I'm better." He said easily, walking towards the door.

I easily ran and blocked his path. "No, you're not, Damon." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Stop complimenting me, Lizzie. You're going to make me blush." Damon said sarcastically, pushing me out of his way.

"Damon-"

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it, Elizabeth. Just let your big brother take care of it all." he tried to sooth me.

I opened my mouth to argue, but he was already gone.

_Damon_

It was time that he met this Poppy bitch face-to-face. He had to admit, he was mildly impressed with the vampire hunters, but he's seen better.

Damon didn't know where Poppy was staying, so he decided to check the Grill. It seemed to be a popular hangout for other vampires swinging into his town. Damon was proven true, when he strolled into the Grill, to find the blonde doing shots by herself.

She was hot, really hot. She looked like the opposite of Lily, as if they were night and day. But Damon also knew that Poppy and Lily had opposite personalities. While Lily was kind, sweet, and motherly, Poppy was a total bitch. Damon had already fallen for one bitch; he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

"Damon Salvatore, I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting." Poppy said without looking up, as Damon sat down across from her.

"I've heard a lot about you though." Damon said, leaning back in his chair.

"Likewise," Poppy smirked at him, her bleach blonde hair falling into her eyes. "you're the arrogant, impulsive bad boy vampire, who fell in love with the same woman as his brother."

"And you're the crazy bitch who tried to take away my sister's humanity, and kill yours." He shot back.

Poppy laughed humorlessly. "Honey, I didn't take anything away from Elizabeth. She was already off the rails when I found her. She was a danger to herself and others. I just made her a danger to others." She said, and then her eyebrows shot up.

"Besides, you're one to talk. I heard that you've been trying to make your brother's life hell, and so far, you've succeeded. We're really not that different, you and I."

Damon snorted. "Don't compare us, Poppy. I've never had the intention to kill Stefan." He told her honestly.

"Oh, because torturing him is so much better?" the blonde retorted.

Damon growled slightly. "I didn't come here to discuss our sibling issues. I came here to tell you to stay the hell away from my sister- and yours too." He told her. Lily was slowly becoming important to him, not that he would ever admit it.

Poppy laughed coldly. "Lily doesn't need you protecting her, Damon. She's not nearly as perfect as she would want you to think." She told him, her blue eyes flashing.

Damon was already standing up. "The next time you try to hurt any of them- Elizabeth, Stefan or Lily- I'll kill you." He warned her, before walking out of the bar.

His conversation with Poppy didn't go nearly as well as he hoped it would, but at least he got his message across to her. Damon was walking down a dark alley to his car, the moon shining down on him, when he was suddenly pushed up against a wall.

"You know, I usually kill guys who threaten to kill me, but there's something about you… must be the eyes." Poppy whispered, before kissing him hard on the mouth.

Damon jerked away from her. She _was _hot, but the fact that she was trying to kill his little sister ruined it for him. "You're trying to kill Elizabeth- do you really think that I would sleep with you?" he questioned, before walking away from her.

Poppy was a little stung at the rejection, but that didn't stop her from calling out, "You know, you Salvatores are one of the most dysfunctional families I've ever met- and that's coming from a vampire who had the most messed up family in all of France, back in the 11th century- you know, before I killed them."

Damon tried to ignore the dig, but couldn't. of course he knew that his family was dysfunctional, but where was her right to say that?

"Shut the hell up, Poppy." He told her, before walking away again.

"What Damon? You know it's true. I can even tell you how each person of your family is screwed up. Shall we start with Stefan?" Poppy asked, leaning against a wall.

Damon stayed silent, but didn't leave. So Poppy continued. "I heard how great of a ripper he was, back in the day. A real shame, that he's pulling a Twilight and just drinking animal blood- it's disgusting. But the thing about Stefan is that he's a recovering addict, and addicts are so fun to mess with. I'm going to have such a fun time, trying to push him back over the edge."

Damon growled, and turned around to face Poppy. "You go anywhere near my brother, and I'll rip your heart out." He growled.

Poppy raised her hands innocently. "I haven't even gotten to your precious Lizzie yet, Damon. Don't you want to hear about her issues?"

Damon didn't answer, and Poppy smirked at him. "Darling Elizabeth is a ticking time bomb. One minute, she's fine, normal. The next, something sets her off, and she becomes one of the best killers I've ever seen. She explodes, Damon. It's been a good fifty years since her last explosion, but she's due for one anytime now. She exploded in 1865, she exploded in Mississippi, and she'll explode sooner or later."

Damon stayed stock still, thinking about his sister. He knew that she used to be pretty bad, but that didn't matter to him. He couldn't care less. But he didn't want her to go back to that, since he knew that she didn't want to.

"I think her explosion will be coming around soon. I mean, she did kill those hunters. She probably acted like she didn't. but deep down, Elizabeth likes killing. She likes feeling the life slip from a human as she drained them alive." Poppy blinked up at him, smirking. "You like killing, don't you, Damon?"

"Shut up," he growled, having heard enough.

Poppy continued talking like she hadn't heard him. "But I know exactly where to push and pull dear Lizzie, and I'll speed things up. I can't wait to have you and Stefan see Elizabeth at her best."

Damon slammed Poppy against the brick wall, leaving an indent. _"Shut the hell up, Poppy!" _he growled at her, a hand around her throat.

Poppy just smirked up at him, not looking worried at all. "But I haven't even gotten to you yet, Damon." She said innocently.

Damon's grip slackened, and Poppy leaned into him. "You're my favorite, Damon." She whispered into his ear. "Wanna know why? Because you're just. Like. Me."

Damon through Poppy away from him, and she smashed into the other wall. She howled in laughter, while Damon saw red, he was so angry. Poppy stopped laughing when he broke off a leg of a broken chair in the alley.

"Dick move, Salvatore." She hissed, before taking the chair leg, and shoving it hard into his stomach.

Damon howled in pain, and Poppy smirked at him, before disappearing. Seconds later, Stefan pulled the makeshift stake from his stomach.

"What the hell happened?" Stefan asked, helping his brother stand up.

Damon just shook his head, gritting his teeth in pain. He hated Poppy Moreau.

_Elizabeth_

I stood on the front porch, impatient for my brothers to return home. I had sent Stefan after Damon, hoping that he would make sure that Poppy wouldn't kill him. But that was an hour ago, and I was starting to get worried.

"Ellie?"

I looked up to see Jeremy walking towards me, breathing heavily. I walked towards him, concern for my brothers moving to the back of my head.

"What's wrong?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. Jeremy sighed, shrugging.

"Nothing really. I told Elena, and she wasn't too thrilled." He admitted.

I frowned, a little hurt. I thought Elena liked me. "Oh." I said, and Jeremy's eyes widened.

"It doesn't matter to me if she likes you or not, Elizabeth. I like you." He told me, hugging me.

I smiled slightly, though it still stung. "I like you too." I whispered into his shirt.

"Did you tell Stefan and Damon yet?" he asked, pulling away.

"I'm working on it." I bit my lip, and Jeremy sighed.

"It's okay, you can do it tomorrow. I still like you." He joked, and I laughed.

"Shut up," I teased, stretching up to reach his lips.

Despite the fact that my brothers were due home any minute, I kissed Jeremy passionately in front of my house. This was a huge mistake on my part.

_Damon_

"I don't understand how you could think that it was smart, going after Poppy." Stefan continued to nag.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Just drop it Stefan." He said gruffly, his stomach still aching.

They walked silently towards their house. Damon wasn't looking forward to Elizabeth telling him, "I told you so."

He was so lost in thought that he ran into Stefan. "Did you forget how to walk, brother?" he said dryly, looking up. But when he did, he froze in shock.

Elizabeth- hissweet, innocent, little sister-had Jeremy Gilbert's tongue down her throat. The couple was completely oblivious that he and Stefan were there.

A growl erupted from Damon's throat. He was going to kill Jeremy Gilbert.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Funnygirlash101, Pickle Paige, vdemily, and Chella8181 for reviewing!

Reviews inspire updates ;)

~Abby :)


	19. games

**Chapter eighteen**

Games

_Elizabeth_

"Elizabeth!"

It came out as a snarl, and I jumped apart from Jeremy. I blinked up at my brothers, who both looked like they were ready to kill Jeremy. Even Stefan, Mr. think-before-you-act.

"Oh, shit." I cursed, pushing Jeremy behind me.

"Ellie-?" Jeremy asked, then he saw Stefan and Damon, and his eyes widened. "Oh, shit."

Suddenly, Lily burst from the house, looking frantic and alert. "Okay, you two need to calm down." She told my brothers, positioning herself in front of them. It looked silly, tiny Lily holding back two tall, muscular guys. But Lily could take them both on at once and win.

"Just one second Lily. Let me kill Gilbert, and then you can lecture us on whatever you want." Damon said through gritted teeth, never taking his eyes off of Jeremy.

Jeremy gulped from behind me, and I glared at my brothers. Over my dead body, would they harm Jeremy.

"Okay, we're going." I said, grabbing Jeremy's hand and practically running to his car. I made sure to go around Stefan and Damon, who were basically being held back by Lily.

"I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" I told him, keeping one eye on my brothers.

He nodded, still looking scared. I didn't blame him. I just hoped that my brothers wouldn't scare him off.

Jeremy didn't kiss me goodbye, and he drove away really fast. I sighed, then turned back to my brothers, and glared daggers.

"You jackasses! If you scared him off, I swear to god-" I started to say, but Stefan cut me off.

"If we didn't scare him off, I'm going to rip his heart out." He growled at me. I was a little surprised to hear this from Stefan, but it seemed that his over protectiveness brought out his temper and rage.

"I hate to agree with Stefan, but if I _ever _see him around you again, I'm going to kill him." Damon said, and I glared at them.

"Okay, all you Salvatores, in the house. Now. You all need to calm down." Lily said, forming a barrier between my brothers and me.

"I'm not a child!" I shouted at them, ignoring Lily. "I'm a 161 year old vampire, and I'm no virgin."

Damon and Stefan made faces and groaned. "I don't want to know that about my little sister." Damon whined.

"I'm not a baby, okay? I'm capable of dating, of taking care of myself. I _like _Jeremy, a lot. And you'll hurt me more if you kill him, than all the heartache he could ever cause me." I said, taking deep breaths to try and calm down.

They still looked unconvinced, so I turned to Stefan. "If you hurt Jeremy, Elena will never forgive you. Think about her before you do anything rash." I told him.

Stefan's anger sobered, but Damon still looked dead-set on killing my boyfriend. I turned to face him, staring into our shared icy blue eyes. "Think about me, Damon. If you hurt Jeremy, I will forgive you. Can handle me hating you for eternity?"

Damon didn't answer, just groaned. I could tell that I had gotten to my brothers, and that Jeremy was safe. For now, anyway. I turned and walked towards the house, Lily following me.

"If I ever see his tongue down your throat, Elizabeth, not even you will be able to save him." Damon called after me.

I walked up to my room, Lily trailing after me. This day hadn't been the best day of my life, and I just wanted to sleep.

"Lizzie?" Lily asked, and I looked at her.

"Yeah, Lil?" I asked, exhausted with stress.

"Before you go sleep- since you look like you need to- we should start taking vervain, you and I. with Poppy in town; we need all the protection we can get." Lily said.

I nodded, and followed her to her room. She poured two glasses of water, and then put smashed up vervain into it. I made a face, as she handed me a glass.

"Bottoms up." She said, as we clinked glasses. I sighed, before downing the glass.

It took all I had not to spit it back out. I fell to the floor, gasping for air. Lily fell onto her bed, choking.

"Oh, I never want to do that again." I moaned, lying down on her floor.

I stayed there for a while, not having the strength to move. My eyelids drooped, and I heard faint snoring coming from Lily. God, I hated vervain.

Before I could fall asleep on Lily's floor, the door creaked open. I barely saw Stefan come to me, and pick me up.

"Vervain's so stupid." I mumbled, as he carried me to my room.

"I know." He agreed, laying me down on my bed.

"I love you, Stef." I mumbled into my pillow.

"I love you too, Lizzie." He smiled slightly, before walking out of my room. I fell asleep as soon as the door clicked shut, no nightmares of Poppy waking me up.

_**~LG~**_

The next morning, I was knocking on Jeremy's front door. We didn't have school that day, and I was hoping I could use the free day to get Jeremy to ignore my overprotective brothers.

"Hello?"

I looked up to see a tall, middle-aged man with blonde hair staring down at me. I frowned up at him, getting a bad feeling about him.

"Uh, hi. Is Jeremy home?" I asked, pushing my hair out of my eyes.

"He's sleeping." The man replied, his eyes widening when he saw my eyes. "Who are you?"

"Elizabeth, Jeremy's girlfriend." I said, getting antsy being alone with this man.

"I didn't know Jeremy had a girlfriend." He replied, not making any move to let me into the house.

"We just started dating," I said, biting my lip. "Can I come in?"

"But Jeremy's still asleep." He said, still blocking my way into the house.

"It's fine, I can wait." I said impatiently.

"But-"

"John, leave that poor girl alone!"

I grinned at Jenna, my savior. She glared at John, before pushing him out of the way. "Come on in, Ellie. Jeremy's still sleeping, but you can go on up." She told me.

John frowned at me, as I walked into the house. I frowned back, not liking this guy at all. who the hell is he?

"By the way, Jeremy told me about you two. I'm so glad, it was about time." She smiled at me, and I grinned back.

"Thanks, Jenna." I replied, walking up the stairs to Jeremy's room. I paused though, when I heard Jenna and John start to bicker.

"Who's that girl?" John demanded.

"Elizabeth Salvatore. She's Stefan and Damon's little sister, though she's definitely more like Stefan. She and Jeremy just started dating, and she managed to cure your nephew of his drug problem her first week here. She's a really sweet girl, so don't scare her off." Jenna snapped him, before stalking away.

My eyebrows furrowed. This John was Jeremy's uncle?

I slowly walked to Jeremy's room, thinking about John. He was acting as if he knew my secret. Dear god, I hope not. That would not be good.

I silently walked into Jeremy's room, to find him sleeping soundly in his bed. I smiled slightly, before kicking off my shoes and taking of my jacket. Then I climbed in next to him, snuggling into his chest.

"Wakey, Wakey." I murmured, kissing him.

Jeremy's eyes opened up slowly, and he smiled sleepily at me. I giggled, pulling away from him so that he could stretch.

"That's a hell of a way to be woken up." He mumbled, yawning.

I grinned, before frowning. "I really hope that my brothers didn't scare you off. I know that Damon threatened to kill you, and they both looked ready to rip your heart out and then shove it back down your throat, but they won't' hurt you. I promise."

"Ellie, its fine. They're your big brothers, they're going to threaten to kill me if I break your heart. It doesn't change us, it just scares me. though, I think that's what they're aiming for." Jeremy said, and I beamed.

"Good, that's what I came here to check on." I said, relaxing.

Jeremy put his arm around my shoulders, and I leaned into him. We stayed like that for a while, until I broke the silence by saying, "So, tell me about your Uncle John."

Jeremy sighed. "He showed up last night. We don't like him." He told me, and I sighed in relief.

"Good, because I was getting bad vibes off of him." I admitted.

"Just ignore him, he'll be gone before you know it." Jeremy shrugged, before getting out of bed.

"Just let me get dressed, and we can go do something." He told me, taking off his shirt.

I openly ogled his chest, smirking at him. "Please, take your time. I'm in no hurry."

_Stefan_

He knew better than to go chasing after Poppy. Stefan wasn't reckless like his brother and sister. Though he wanted Poppy out of his town, especially after her attack on Damon last night. He went with Lily that morning, to go talk to Bonnie about casting the tomb spell. The sooner he got rid of Poppy, the better.

But just because he wasn't going to look for Poppy, didn't mean that she wouldn't find him.

Stefan was waiting for Elena at the grill. The plan was all set, they just needed to lure out Poppy. That would be the hardest part, because she was no idiot. She knew that they were planning something.

"It's about time you and I met, Stefan."

Stefan looked up, to see Poppy smirking across the table from him.

"I hope that you're friendlier than Damon, I'd hate to hurt you like I did with him. How's he doing, by the way? I staked him pretty hard. I'm not very gentle." She smirked at him, trying to egg him on. But Stefan wasn't like Damon and Elizabeth, he wasn't reckless and easily pushed to the edge.

"He's fine, his ego's more bruised than his stomach." Stefan replied, and Poppy frowned slightly.

"What happened to you, Stefan?" she asked him, and he raised an eyebrow. "You used to be amazing, one of the best rippers I've seen in a long time. And now you're… this. No offense, Stef, but you're kind of pathetic now."

Stefan was still passive. "I'm not going back to that." He said firmly.

"Come on, man. you're drinking animal blood, _animal blood. _It's sad, that you used to be so brilliant- even better Elizabeth, which is saying something, since I made her who she was- and now you're drinking animal blood. It's disgusting, I don't know how you do it." Poppy sighed, shaking her head.

"I do what I have to do, that part of my life is behind me now." He shrugged, and poppy gritted her teeth, irritated. Then she smirked at him.

"Well, I feel sorry for you. So, I got you a little present." Poppy snapped her fingers, and a pretty blonde walked up to them, compelled. In fact, the entire bar was compelled.

"Come here, sweetheart." She cooed, before biting into the poor girl's neck. She didn't even blink.

"Now your turn, Stef." Poppy smirked, wiping her mouth and pushing the girl into his lap.

Stefan blinked, watching the crimson blood drip down the young girl's neck. It was tempting, so very tempting…

He blinked, and shook his head, pushing the girl away from him. Poppy frowned at him.

"Don't you know its bad manners, not accepting such a thoughtful gift?" she asked, before sighing.

"Sorry, I forgot. Rippers are all about the chase." Poppy said, turning to the blonde.

"Run as fast as you can, and scream as loud as you can. Go." She compelled.

The blonde took off screaming, running for the doors. The rest of the patrons were undisturbed, and went about their business.

Stefan didn't move, and Poppy groaned in frustration. "Stefan, if you don't go after that girl and kill her, I'll kill Elena." She threatened.

He instantly went stiff, and Poppy smirked at him. "Your choice, Stef. The girlfriend or the blonde currently bleeding all over the bar. Either way, somebody's dying today."

"Leave, Poppy."

Stefan and Poppy both looked up to see Lily glaring at her big sister, holding the blonde in her arms. "Enough with your games, go before I kill you." She growled.

Poppy laughed humorlessly. "Lilianna, I'm more scared of the Easter Bunny, than I am of you." She said, standing up.

"Well, _Poppaea, _You've never known what I'm capable of." She shot back, holding the struggling girl in her arms easily.

Poppy rolled her eyes. "If you were going to kill me, you would've done it centuries ago."

"I could say the same thing about you," Lily retorted.

Stefan watched the exchange curiously. They were so much like him and Damon, though much, much worse. Would that be them in a few centuries? He hoped not.

"Leave, Poppy." Lily repeated.

"I'm' just having some fun, sister." Poppy said innocently, smirking at Stefan. "Sorry Stef, Lily doesn't know how to have fun. I hope you do."

"No, Poppy, you like playing games." Lily argued, and her older sister smirked easily at her.

"What's the difference?" she asked, her eyes trailing over to the blonde struggling in her sister's arms. In a flash, Poppy grabbed her, and the girl started screaming.

"You have two options, Stefan." She said seriously. "Kill her, or I'll kill Elena."

"You won't go anywhere near her," Lily growled. "I'll kill you before I let that happen."

Poppy saw the truth in Lily's words, and knew that she was fully capable of killing her, if she really tried. Another idea popped into her head, and her smirk returned.

"Fine, I have another idea." Poppy bit her wrist and fed the struggling girl her blood. Before Lily could even move to attack her, the girl was on the floor, dead.

"Have fun cleaning up this mess, Lil." Poppy said cheerfully, before disappearing.

Lily and Stefan both stared at the dead girl on the floor, soon to wake up and go into transition. Lily bit her lip; poor girl, another bystander caught in the middle of the war between the Moreau sisters.

Stefan heard Lily sigh, before turning to him. "You take the girl to the house, and I'll clean up the rest of her mess." She said tiredly, moving to compel everyone in the bar.

Stefan did as told, picking up the dead girl. He felt sorry for her, for what she was about to become. She didn't even get the choice; it was just a sick twist in Poppy's game.

Poppy Moreau loved her games, and she was just getting started.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: HawthorneTree, Funnygirlash101, Pickle Paige, Chella8181, and vdemily for reviewing!

Reviews make my day :)

~Abby!


	20. welcome to the club

**Chapter nineteen**

Welcome to the club

_Elizabeth_

"_She wears a white dress,_

_She sees the light and its saying 'come back,'_

_She's out the door, but she hasn't left yet,_

_And I start believing' her When she says,_

_that the city's gonna save her-"_

I groaned against Jeremy's lips, before pulling away. Jeremy groaned, laying down on his bed- shirtless- as I reached for my phone.

"What?" I snapped irritably, hooking my bra back on.

"You need to get home Elizabeth. Now." Damon's voice echoed in my ear, and I glowered at Jeremy's wall.

"I can't Damon, I'm busy." I said stiffly, pissed at my brother for interrupting my make out session with Jeremy.

"Tell lover boy to put his shirt back on, and get your ass home. Poppy has struck again." Damon said, and my annoyance and anger instantly sobered.

"What? What did she do?" I asked, praying that I wouldn't have to bury a body today.

"Long story short, there's going to be a dead human waking up soon in our living room, hungry as hell." Damon told me, and I cursed.

"I'll be there in ten." I told my brother, before hanging up on him.

I turned to Jeremy and smiled apologetically. "Sorry Jer, I have to go." I said, kissing him quickly, as I shrugged my jacket on.

"What happened?" Jeremy asked in a concerned voice.

"Long story. I'll call you tonight, okay?" I told him, edging for his door.

Jeremy sighed, but nodded. I blew him a kiss, before walking out of his room and towards the front door. Poppy changed an innocent bystander, just to get a reaction out of us. I was going to kill her.

Suddenly, my path was blocked by John. I sighed in annoyance- I didn't have time for this.

"Sorry John, I really have to go. Family emergency." I told him quickly, moving to walk around him, but he blocked my path.

I glared up at him, but he just returned my glare. "You need to stay away from my nephew." He told me bluntly, and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What are talking about?" I asked, anxious to get home and deal with Poppy's latest mess.

"You are Stefan and Damon's sister- and I don't think I need to tell you that they are vampires. Which makes you one too. So stay away from my nephew, or I will kill you." John threatened, and I laughed humorlessly.

"I'd like to see you try." I told him, slamming him into the wall with just a push. I wasn't in the mood for this.

I left the Gilbert house, John glaring after me. I drove quickly home, and ran into my house. I found Lily, Damon, and Stefan all gathered around a dead blonde girl on the couch.

"That's her?" I asked, standing next to Lily. She nodded, before sighing.

"What are we going to do?" she asked no one in particular.

"We can't just set her loose on the world." I said, before getting an idea. "Can't one of your rehab workers come and pick her up? Teach her how to control her thirst and all that jazz?"

Lily nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think Maria's over in Maryland. She can pick her up." Lily said, before leaving to call up Maria, one of Lily's many worker bees who help her with her rehab program.

I looked back down at the young girl. She was so young, probably around seventeen. But hey, I died at fifteen- only two days from turning sixteen. Still, it was a shame she now had to be a vampire just because she was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Suddenly, the girl sat up straight and gasped for air. I took a deep breath- this wasn't going to be fun. The girl took in her surroundings, and backed away from Damon, Stefan and I.

"Wh-what happened? Where am I? why- why I am so hungry?" her questions came out like a flood, and I didn't have time to answer them.

"One at a time." I said kindly, sitting down next to the girl. She flinched away from me.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"Caitlyn." The girl said finally, her eyes darting around the room.

"I'm Elizabeth, they're my brothers, Stefan and Damon." I introduced, and the girl nodded slowly.

"What happened? What's happened to me? why am I so hungry?" she questioned.

"You're in transition." Damon told her bluntly, causing me and Stefan to glare at him.

"Transition for what?" Caitlyn whispered, pulling her knees up to her chin.

"There's really no good way to say this." I sighed. "You're transitioning to become a vampire."

Caitlyn blinked up at me, her eyes wide. "You're crazy. Vampires aren't real." She whispered.

Damon snorted. "I beg to differ. I'm very real."

I glared at him again. "If you're not going to help, then you can leave." I snapped him.

Damon raised his arms. "Okay, I'll shut up." He said.

I turned back to Caitlyn, whose green eyes were still wide open. "So you're saying… I'm about to become a _vampire?" _she asked skeptically.

I nodded. "I know it's a lot to take in, but we'll explain everything." I told her.

Still, she shook her head. "You people are insane." She said, before standing up and running towards the front door.

I sighed, before turning to my brothers. "What should we do?" I asked them.

"Well first, you should go get baby vamp, before she runs away and dies in a gutter because she never drank any blood." Damon told me dryly.

Within a blink of an eye, I had Caitlyn pinned against a wall, though I was careful not to hurt her. She stared, frozen in shock, at me. "How did you do that?" she whispered.

"I'm a vampire." I told her bluntly. "My brothers are vampires. The crazy bitch who changed you is a vampire. About 30% of this town's population are vampires. And now, you're going to become one."

She shook her head fiercely. "No, I don't want to be one." She said childishly.

"That's an option, but then you'll die." Stefan said, as he and Damon walked up to us.

"I don't even have a choice? I'm forced to be one of _you?" _she asked.

"Don't act like it's so bad. There are good parts." Damon said defensively.

I nodded in agreement. Subtract the bloodlust, your emotions being multiplied, and losing your humanity, being a vampire wasn't that bad. I still missed being human, though.

I let go of Caitlyn, who looked on the verge of tears. I sighed; I felt so bad for her. She probably had a family, a job, a boyfriend. She probably had plans to go to college, and become a doctor, or a teacher, or something. And now that was all down the tube, because Poppy wanted to play a game.

"What do I have to do to complete this thing?" she whispered hopelessly.

"You have to drink blood." Stefan said kindly.

She flinched, but nodded. "Let's just get it over with."

I led her down to the basement, giving Stefan and Damon a look to tell them not to follow. In the cooler, I took out a bag of blood, and Caitlyn flinched.

"I don't know if I can do it." She mumbled.

"You don't have to, but you will die if you don't. how hungry are you right now? Aren't your gums aching?" I asked.

She nodded slowly. "I'm starving," Caitlyn said, as her eyes landed on the bag in my hands. "And that looks really, really good."

I smiled slightly. "It really isn't that bad, Caitlyn. You just have to learn to control your thirst, and my friend Lily is going to have a friend come and pick you up. Maria is going to teach you how to control it."

"What about my family? I can't just leave them." She said, a tear running down her cheek.

"Once you have your thirst controlled, you can go back to them. I just- I have to warn you that they're going to die, and you're not. You're going to be immortal, Caitlyn." I told her honestly.

She flinched and sighed. "Why me?" she asked no one in particular.

"You just got caught in the crossfire, Caitlyn. I'm so sorry." I said sympathetically.

She bit her lip, before reaching for the baggy of blood. I handed it to her, watching as she opened it with her nose wrinkled. Then Caitlyn took a hesitant sip.

Her green eyes widened, and then her fangs came out. She downed the entire bag, and growled when it was empty.

"I'm so hungry." She growled.

"Let's take it easy," I said, as her eyes trained on the cooler behind me.

"Elizabeth, did she do it?" Lily asked, coming down the stairs. Caitlyn glared at her, blind animalistic instinct taking over.

"I got it from here, Ellie. Go upstairs." Lily ordered, walking over to Caitlyn. I did as told, and returned to my brothers.

"What a day," Damon sighed, looking at his watch. "I have to go to a council meeting. It's about the vampire hunters who mysteriously disappeared without finishing the job."

"Before you go, do you guys know John Gilbert?" I asked, sitting down on the couch.

Both of my brothers pulled faces. "Ugh, yes. Why?" Damon asked.

"Because I just met him when I was over at Jeremy's. he knows about me, and told me to stay away from Jeremy. So I pushed him into a wall and gave him a concussion." I smirked.

"That's my girl." Damon said proudly, before leaving for his meeting.

"Don't go pissing off Poppy." I called to him.

"Yeah, yeah."

I grinned, as my phone suddenly rang. "Hello?"

"Hey Ellie." Jeremy said.

I smiled, as I walked up to my room. "Hey Jer. What's up?"

"Jenna told me to call you, because… she wants to have a family dinner." He sighed, like that didn't sound very fun.

"Family dinner? With who's family?" I asked, as I sat down on my bed.

"Yours and mine." he answered.

"Oh god." I groaned. That sounded painful.

"Yeah, I know. But we have to do it. Is tomorrow okay?" he asked.

"I guess." I mumbled, thinking about the baby vampire in my basement and the crazy bitch running around town. Did I really have time to squeeze a human moment in between all that chaos?

I guess I really didn't have a choice.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: vdemily, Chella8181, and Pickle Paige for reviewing!

Reviews inspire updates ;)

~Abby!


	21. big siblings

**Chapter twenty**

Big siblings

_Elizabeth_

At school the next day, I was holding Jeremy's hand as we walked to art together. Caitlyn had left that morning, and my heart still ached for her. It just made me want to kill Poppy that much more.

"You looking forward to the dinner tonight?" Jeremy asked, as we sat down.

I made a face. "No, not even a little bit. I can't believe that Damon offered to have it at our house." I said, and Jeremy chuckled.

"It won't be that bad, Elle. Jenna loves you, no one cares what John thinks, and Elena… it doesn't matter to me what Elena thinks." He said, pulling out his sketch book.

I sighed; I had yet to confront Elena about what she said to Jeremy. It was sweet of him to say that he didn't care what Elena thought though. "Wanna cut class and go make out in a closet?" I asked absentmindedly.

Jeremy packed his things away, and we snuck out of the class while the teacher was critiquing a painting. Giggling, I pushed Jeremy into the closet, and shut it behind us. I tried to keep a tight grip on my thirst, as I latched my lips onto his.

I didn't know how long we were in that closet. But what could have been minutes or hours later, the door opened, and I heard a gasp, a growl, and laughter.

"Ehem, guys?"

I pulled away from Jeremy, my bra unhooked and Jeremy's shirt half off. I glared at our interrupters, but when I saw who they were, my jaw dropped. It was a group of people- Caroline, Bonnie, two guys I didn't know, my brother, and Jeremy's sister.

"Oh shit." I cursed, as Jeremy backed as far away from me as possible, due to the look that Stefan was giving him.

A tan guy who looked to be a Lockwood, laughed, as I tried to hook my bra back on without being obvious. "Well, this is awkward." I stated, grabbing Jeremy's hand.

"In defense, we were in a closet; you guys are the ones who walked in on us." I said, dragging Jeremy through the small crowd of people.

"I thought that your brother was going to kill me." Jeremy muttered, smoothing out his shirt.

"He's probably thinking about it." I grinned, much to Jeremy's dismay.

"Oh, come on Jer." I laughed, as we walked to his locker, since school was over. "I'll protect you from my brothers. Unless you cheat on me, then I'll kick your ass myself."

_**~LG~**_

"I have nothing to wear!" I exclaimed, slamming my closet door shut so hard, that a door came off. "Dammit!" I cursed, taking deep breaths to calm myself down.

"Lizzie, relax."

I ignored Damon, as I continued to look for something suitable to wear. But it seemed as if all my dresses were either too slutty, too nun-like, or had blood stains on them. Blood stains were a bitch to get out.

"I will not relax, Damon! I'm meeting my boyfriend's family tonight!" I exclaimed, glaring at him.

Damon rolled his eyes at me. "Yeah, because they're all total strangers to you." He said sarcastically.

I glared at him. "Not the point, Damon. This dinner tonight, it's official. They're going to be judging me and deciding if I'm not good enough for Jeremy." I babbled.

"Elizabeth," Damon said, grabbing my shoulders. "Take a deep breath before your head explodes."

I sighed, but did as told. Soon, I felt my emotions calm down. "You already met Gilbert's family, you know them. So just relax and stop freaking out, okay?" Damon told me, letting me go.

"'Gilbert?' really?" I sighed, shaking my head at my brother, before returning my attention to the dresses spread out on my bed.

Damon just shrugged, before raising an eyebrow. "Why are you so freaked out about tonight? The only thing you should be worried about is me tearing Gilbert's heart out during dessert."

I shot him a glare, before sighing. "Elena doesn't like me," I admitted.

"What?" Damon frowned. "Are you sure? I thought that you two were bonding." He said.

"Maybe she likes me as her boyfriend's little sister, but not as her little brother's girlfriend." I said, running my hand over a silky yellow dress from the forties with a big blood stain on the chest.

"Does it really matter what Elena thinks? You don't care if Stefan and I like Jeremy, so why should it matter if Elena doesn't like you?" Damon asked, and I sighed.

"I do care if you guys like him," I admitted. "But if you two don't, it wouldn't stop me from dating him."

"Oh, we don't. If I had things my way, your boyfriend would be very dead right now." Damon smirked, and I glared at him. "Does it matter to Jeremy if Elena likes you or not?" he asked thoughtfully.

"…no." I said, biting my lip and picking up a pearl necklace.

"Then don't worry about." Damon said like it was no big deal.

"But…" I tried to argue, but he cut me off.

"Don't worry about it." He repeated, and I sighed. If only it was that easy.

Suddenly, Lily walked into my room in a very flattering blue dress. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Damon's jaw drop. I frowned at her.

"So you have no problem finding a dress, yet I can't even settle for a skirt." I mumbled, looking at an orange dress from the 70's that made me look like a pumpkin. "What decade is that from?"

"The 1500's." she answered, smoothing it out.

I raised an eyebrow. "No way."

Lily nodded and grinned. "I knew a really good tailor in the twenties who made it more modern for Me." she said, as Damon still struggled not to stare at her.

"Well that's great Lil, your boyfriend will absolutely love it on you- oh wait." I said sarcastically, and Lily raised an eyebrow.

"I see we have an attitude today." She observed.

"I always have an attitude." I muttered.

"She's just pissy because Elena doesn't like her." Damon told her bluntly, finally recovering.

I glared at him. "What happened to 'don't worry about it?'" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Don't, Lizzie. If Elena doesn't like my pain in the ass- but very awesome- little sister," Damon added when I glared at him, "That's her problem. Not yours."

"I agree. Now hurry up and get ready, they're going to be here in an hour." Lily said, going through the pile of dresses on my bed.

"It's no use, I have nothing to wear." I groaned, lying down on my bed.

"I'm going to leave you two to your girl crisis." Damon said, before leaving. I just sighed, he really didn't understand the stress of getting ready.

"Maybe Elena has something." Lily offered, frowning at a particularly awful dress from the 80's.

I gave her a look. "I thought we already made it clear that Elena doesn't like me." I said, closing my eyes.

"Doesn't change the fact that you're going to be wearing a plastic bag to the dinner tonight, if you don't find a dress soon." Lily pointed out.

I sighed. "You're right. I have no other options."

I drove to Elena's house, in a hurry. I didn't have a lot of time, and I still had to do my hair and makeup. I knocked impatiently on the front door, and Elena answered, looking surprised.

"Hey Elizabeth, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I need a dress." I said in a bitchy tone. Elena raised an eyebrow, but let me in the house.

"I think I have one you can wear." She said, as I followed her up to her room.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked, as she flipped through the dresses in her closet.

I raised an eyebrow. "Nothing, why?" I said coolly.

"Because you seem a little… stressed Ellie." She said, biting her lip. I knew she meant that I was acting like a bitch.

"Why don't you like me?" I blurted out, and Elena's eyebrows furrowed.

"What?" she asked.

"Jeremy told me that you weren't exactly thrilled that we were together." I told her, and Elena sighed.

"I didn't mean it like that, Elizabeth." She said. "You're not the first vampire Jeremy's dated. And the last time he dated one, he almost turned for her. I don't want him involved in this."

My eyebrows furrowed. "I thought that Jeremy was still in the dark?" I asked, confused.

"Damon compelled him to forget. Twice. He thinks Vicki died of an overdose, when in reality Stefan staked her. He thinks that Anna moved away, but John staked her." Elena admitted. "I don't want him to know, Elizabeth."

It sounded to me, that Elena was deciding things for Jeremy, and I didn't really think that that was her place. I didn't say anything though. "I have no plans for him to find out about vampires in the imminent future, Elena." I told her.

Elena's face relaxed, and she smiled at me. "Good. I don't dislike you, Elizabeth. Just so we're clear."

"Crystal." I agreed, and she handed me a vintage looking white dress. I grinned. "Thanks." I said, walking towards the door with the dress.

"No problem." She called, as I walked down the stairs.

I barely had enough time to get home and get ready. But when I was just about to unlock my car, somebody suddenly stuck a shot in my arm.

I barely had time to gasp, before I was injected with vervain. A lot of it. Despite my daily shot of the plant, it still made me really weak. Just as I was about to fall to my knees, somebody caught me.

"John…" I whispered, as he picked me up. "My brothers are gonna kill you." I told him, just as the vervain finally knocked me out.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Pickle Paige, Chella8181, and LittleApril for reviewing!

Review, please :)

~Abby!


	22. the torture shack

**Chapter twenty one**

The torture shack

_Elizabeth_

I groaned in pain, as I came back to the real world. I was on an uncomfortable cot, and my entire body ached. I opened my eyes to stare up at a glass ceiling, the moon visible through it. I looked around to see that I was in a shack of some sort. I was about ten feet from the door, and water filled the shack about knee high. Slowly, I got up to get out of this place. But when I dipped my foot in the water, it burned my skin. I yelped in pain.

"Hmm, you shouldn't be awake yet."

I glared daggers at John, who stepped into the vervain filled pool but stayed near the door. "I drink vervain every day, jackass, so that things like this won't happen. Where the hell am I?" I snarled.

"One of my experiments. I thought I could use you as the lab rat to test out my idea." He said casually, as I pulled my knees up to my chin.

"Why are you doing this? I haven't done anything to you." I mumbled my head pounding.

"You are a _vampire, _Elizabeth. I told you to stay away from Jeremy, but you refused. And then Damon threatened to rip every organ out of my body if I threatened you again, so I took matters into my own hands. You see that?" John gestured to the glass ceiling, and I looked up.

"Not only does it let the sun in, but that glass amplifies the sun's rays. That's good news for you though, Elizabeth- you'll burn faster." He told me.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't burn in the sun, John. I have my ri-"but when I looked down at my hand, it was missing.

"Looking for this?" John smirked as he held up my daylight ring. I glared at him, and made to attack him, but the vervain water stopped me.

"So you have some special ceiling, John. I'll get out of here, and when I do, I'm going to rip your heart out and shove it up your ass." I threatened.

"But that's the thing, Elizabeth. You're not getting out of here. The sun is going to rise in-"he checked his watch, "- nine hours. And then you'll burn to death. But if you try to escape, you'll never make it out through the vervain water. You'll die either way."

I was stuck in some messed up torture shack. I was doomed. Still, I shook my head. "No, my brothers will notice that I'm missing. And when they do, they're going to kill you." I told him defiantly.

"You let me worry about Stefan and Damon, Elizabeth." John smirked at me, and my eyes widened. He was going to kill them.

"You lay a hand on my brothers, and I'll-"I growled, but John cut me off.

"You'll what, Elizabeth? What could you possibly do? You'll be dead." He told me, and I didn't answer. "I need to leave you now, Elizabeth. I'm late for a dinner."

John left me, as my heart pounded in my chest. I was stuck in a death trap. What was I going to do? I couldn't wait around until sunrise, or I would burn to death. But I couldn't get to the door, or the vervain would burn me too. Either way I was dead, and so were my brothers.

I tried jumping the distance, but I didn't make it. I screamed and hollered in pain, as I pulled myself back up onto the cot. The burns on my body didn't heal very fast, but I knew that it was because I was so weak.

I panted, as I eyed the door. I knew what I had to do; the only question was if I would make it out alive. I screamed in pain as I jumped into the water, but I didn't' jump out. I ran towards the door, the water burning away my flesh. I kept going, tears of pain running from my eyes. _think of Stefan and Damon. think of Lily. Think of Jeremy. _I told myself, as I repeatedly tripped and exposed the rest of my body to the vervain.

When I reached the door, with the remaining strength I had, I kicked the door open. And then I lay down on the grass, away from the vervain water pouring out of the shack. I was alive, but just barely. I needed blood, or I would die.

I managed to get to my feet, only to collapse on the ground again. I had to get home or I would die. I wasn't safe from the sun here either. I looked down at my body and flinched- the burns were disgusting, especially on my legs. You could see the bone in some spots.

My eyes traveled to a bunny a few yards away. I made a face, as I knew what I was about to do. I wasn't proud of killing that bunny and drinking it's nasty blood, but it gave me enough strength to stand up and walk home. It didn't heal my burns though.

It seemed to take hours before I made it home. As I walked in through the front door, I heard voices coming from the dining room. I cleared my voice and made sure to keep any pain out of it.

"I am so, so sorry that I'm late, guys. My car broke down, and then I went on the longest and frankly, craziest adventure of life through the woods. I'll tell you it all, just give me a chance to clean up." I said cheerfully, making a beeline for the kitchen.

Immediately, I took three bags of blood out of the cooler from downstairs, and ripped the first one open with my teeth. Not even bothering with a glass, I chugged it down. It felt so good, as the blood gave me my strength back and started to heal my burns.

"Elizabeth, where the hell were you-" Damon cut himself off when he saw me. I smirked at him, and wiped the blood from my mouth.

"I am going to kill him." I told Damon, as Stefan joined us in the kitchen.

"Who are you going to kill? What the hell happened to you?" my brothers asked, as they stared with wide eyes at my burns, as I chugged the second bag of blood.

"John Gilbert. I'm going to start by breaking every bone in his body, then I'm going to rip every organ from his body, and then I'm going to finish it off my ripping him limb from limb. Sound like a plan to you guys?" I asked, clenching my teeth.

"Elizabeth, what happened? Are you okay?" Stefan asked, as I started on my third bag of blood.

I sighed, and sat down. My burns were healing over, thank god. They hurt so freaking much. "John locked me up in some screwed up torture chamber. The ceiling was made of glass that amplified the sun's rays, and then he stole my ring. And it was filled with vervain water, so that either way, I would die. Then he told me that he was going to kill you two, and then the jackass left. Ugh, I'm going to kill him so hard!" I exclaimed, standing up with fire in my eyes.

"Lizzie, calm down." Stefan told me, as Damon looked like he could kill.

I will _not _calm down, Stefan!" I snapped. "I almost died. If I hadn't drunk that poor bunny's blood, I would be. I mean, if you're going to kill me, have the decency to do it face-to-face. Don't lock me up in some shack and have nature do it for you."

"I'm all for killing John, we should've done it ages ago. And now he tried to kill Lizzie, Stefan. We can't' just let that go." Damon argued.

"He's Elena's birth father, Elizabeth." Stefan told me. I just stared back.

"I'm doing her a favor then." I told him, before walking quickly up to my room.

I showered, changed, and put on makeup in a matter of ten minutes. I had my super speed to thank for that. My anger was fueling me, as I walked down into the dining room, in a random dress since Elena's was still in my car.

I smiled sweetly at Jeremy, and kissed him as I sat down next to him. "Sorry I'm late." I whispered, holding his hand under the table.

"No problem. But your brother's been giving me the death stare ever since I walked into your house." Jeremy whispered back.

"Which one?" I asked, as I grabbed a glass of water and sipped it.

"Both."

I glared at my brothers, but they seemed to be arguing themselves. I knew it was about to kill or not to kill John. I didn't care though, he was dying tonight. And he knew it too.

All dinner long, I kept shooting smirks at John, as I made conversation with Jenna. He seemed bewildered that I managed to escape his shack of death, but he hid it well.

Lily pulled me aside before desert. "What happened?" she demanded, her silver eyes glinting in concern.

I shrugged. "John Gilbert tried to kill me, and he failed. So now I'm going to kill him."

Lily shot me a look. "You can't kill him, Elizabeth." She told me bluntly.

"Actually, I can. He tried to kill me, it's only fair that I repay the favor." I told her with a raised eyebrow.

"Elizabeth, he's Jeremy's uncle and Elena's birth father. Even if they don't like him, you can't kill him. plus, who knows what downward spiral that might put you in." Lily argued, as I walked back toward the dining room.

"It won't send me down any downward spiral, Lily. I'll kill John, then I'll go back to being happy, chipper Lizzie. It'll be like it never happened." I assured her, before returning to my boyfriend.

"You can't do it, Elizabeth. It's not in you anymore." She called to me, as I sat down next to Jeremy.

The rest of the dinner went well, despite the fact that all the vampires in the room were arguing on whether or not to kill John Gilbert. Damon was on my side, but Stefan and Lily were very anti-kill john.

Still, after everybody went home, I went to the Gilbert's house. John was sitting in the kitchen, drinking out of a bottle. I watched him silently from the shadows.

"I want my ring back." I told him bluntly, causing John to jump.

I came out of the shadows and towards him. "That's my first demand. My ring, now." I said, putting out my hand.

"No." he told me, hiding his fear as if it was non-existent. But I could smell it on him.

I sighed. "If I were you, I'd be really nice to me right now. My ring now, please, or I'll just have to torture it's whereabouts out of you."

John sighed, before dropping my ring into my hand. I smirked, before sliding it back on. "I know you're here to kill me. so just get it over with." John sighed, drinking out of his bottle.

"But you were going to leave me to burn in the sun," I mocked him. "Why should I be nice to you?"

As I made to break his leg, something occurred to me. I wasn't this person anymore. This was "ripper" Elizabeth shining through me. I didn't kill humans anymore, no matter how much they deserved it. Killing those hunters the night of the founder's party still haunted me.

I groaned, and ran a hand over my face. I couldn't kill John.

"If you're not out of town by morning, I'll break your spine and you'll never walk again." I threatened, as I walked to the front door.

John stared wide eyed at my retreating figure. Without looking back at him, I called over my shoulder, "Oh, and if you ever come near my family again, I'll kill you in your sleep."

And then I left, feeling weak for not killing john, yet feeling strong for not letting the old me take over. Lily was right, it wasn't in me anymore.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: LittleApril, Chella8181, Pickle Paige, HawthorneTree, and vdemily for reviewing!

Review, please!

~Abby ;)


	23. the bitch is going down

**Chapter twenty two**

The bitch is going down

_Elizabeth_

"I knew that you couldn't kill John."

"Yes Lily, you know everything. Now help me pick out a skirt so that we can leave." I said a little bitterly, as I held up a plain red skirt and a skirt with a flower print.

"The flower one." Lily said a smug grin on her lips.

I changed quickly, and then Lily and I left my house to go meet up with Stefan, Damon, and Bonnie. It was the day after the family dinner, and John had left that morning. I was glad that he was gone. I wasn't glad for the teasing I was getting for not killing him.

But we had bigger matters to attend to now. Tonight, Poppy would be trapped in the tomb.

"Sorry we're late; I couldn't decide what to wear." I apologized, as Lily and I walked down to the tomb, where Stefan, Damon, and Bonnie were gathered. Damon rolled his eyes at me, as I walked up beside him.

"You're such a girl." He muttered, and I rolled my eyes at him.

"So, if I cast the spell now, I won't have to be here when you actually get Poppy into the tomb. You just have to be careful not to get in the tomb yourselves, because if I let you out, I'd let her out." Bonnie announced.

"Sounds like a plan." I said, as Bonnie pulled out her Grimoire.

I watched, a little curious, as Bonnie chanted what sounded to be Latin, but I wasn't' sure. The torches on the walls grew brighter as she chanted. When she stopped, the fire went back to normal.

"Okay, you're good to go." She told us, and I smiled thankfully.

"Thank you so much, Bonnie." I said, as she left. Then I turned to my brothers and my best friend.

"Okay, what's the plan to get her down here?" I asked, eying the tomb.

"Isn't there some Founding Family event going on tonight?" Lily asked, as we all walked out of the tomb.

"Yeah, a fundraiser for something this town doesn't really need." Damon said. "I was just going to send a check."

"That's where she'll be, raising hell no doubt. It shouldn't be too hard, drawing her down here. It'll just be hard trying not to get killed." Lily said.

I looked at Stefan, Damon, and Lily. They were my family, and I couldn't handle losing any of them. That's why we needed Poppy in that tomb and out of our lives. I very well might die tonight, but as long as it saved my family from poppy, I wouldn't die in vain.

"I think we're up for the challenge." I said, as we finally got out of the tomb. "Now, we just need a plan."

_**~LG~**_

"So, Elena has no idea what's going down tonight?" I asked Stefan, as we wandered around Mystic Falls Park, which the fundraiser was for. There was a bonfire in the middle of the park, lighting up the night.

"Yes, and I'd like to keep it that way." He said, and I nodded.

"I told Jeremy to stay home tonight. No problem for him, since he hates these things." I said. I didn't want Jeremy to be anywhere near Poppy.

"Do you know if or when you're going to tell him about you?" Stefan asked me, as we scanned the crowd for Poppy.

I sighed. "I don't know, Stef." I told him honestly.

"That's okay, Lizzie. Elena found out about me, I didn't even tell her." He said.

"How do you even tell a human that you're a vampire? It's not exactly easy." I said, unwillingly thinking about when I found out about _him._

_Mystic Falls Virginia_

_1864_

_I had seen him around a few different times since he kissed me. but when I went to talk to him, he disappeared. I found myself thinking all the time about him, daydreaming about when I would see him again, when I would kiss him again._

_I sometimes wandered around town in hopes of running into him again. Stefan was distracted by Katherine, and I was distracted by him. I was starting to think that I would never see him again, that he would always be just some memory, nothing more._

_It was the middle of the day, and I had walked around town for hours. My feet were killing me, so I sat down at the base of a tree, and leaned against it. I closed my eyes and basked in the sunlight._

"_Miss Elizabeth, a pleasure to see you again."_

_My eyes popped open to see his smirk. I beamed unwillingly, and his smirk widened. "I have been waiting for you." I blurted out._

"_I'm sorry I've kept you waiting. I had business I had to attend to." He replied, as I stood up. He offered me his arm. "Shall we, Miss Elizabeth?"_

_The way he called me "Miss Elizabeth" made me feel like he was mocking me and complimenting me at the same time. I took his arm, and we started to walk aimlessly through the town._

"_I have been thinking about you, Elizabeth." He admitted to me in a surprisingly honest voice._

"_So have I. it seems to be all I can do." I admitted, hiding behind my hair._

_He brushed my hair out of my eyes, and cupped my face. My blue eyes met his for an instant before he kissed me in the middle of town._

_We got scandalized looks from other townspeople for our public display of affection. I blushed and tried to pull away, but he held me to him. "Don't be ashamed, Lizzie." He breathed into my ear, before pulling me into the shadows of the forest._

_I closed my eyes in bliss as he kissed my neck. But that bliss suddenly disappeared when he sunk his teeth into my neck._

_I opened my mouth to scream, but he covered my mouth with his hand as he fed from me. I struggled to get away, but he held me still. When I started to feel light headed, he pulled away, my blood on his lips._

"_Wh-what are you?" I whispered, shaking in fear as he wiped his mouth on the back of his hand._

_He ignored my question, as he bit his wrist and forced me to drink from him. I struggled, but eventually, I swallowed some of his blood._

"_Please, don't kill me." I begged, backing away from him. he was a monster of some sort, from the stories Stefan and Damon used to tell me when I was little._

_He sighed. "Now where's the fun in that, sweetheart?" he asked, before I took off running._

_I tripped over a branch and fell into his arms. My eyes widened; it wasn't possible. How did he get over to me so fast?_

"_Elizabeth, don't run." He sighed, as I pulled out of his arms._

"_What are you?" I whispered in fear._

"_I'm' a vampire, love." He told me easily, and I shook my head fiercely. Vampires weren't real; they were stories that my brothers told me to scare me._

"_You're a monster." I breathed, and he didn't even flinch. He just walked up to me and grabbed my face. I struggled to pull away from him._

"_No! let me go, please just let me go." I begged._

_His sky blue eyes met mine, and his dilated. "You will not be afraid of me, Elizabeth. You accept what I am, and you will not tell anybody what I am." He compelled._

_I felt my fear melt away at his words. I wasn't afraid of him. "I am not afraid. I accept you, and I will not tell anybody what you are." I repeated._

_He smiled, and let go off my face. "Very good, love." He complimented me. then he leaned down and kissed me again. I let him, and kissed him back. the man I had been thinking about for days, even dreamed about, was a vampire. But I wasn't afraid._

"Elizabeth?"

I shook my head and turned my attention to Stefan. I wouldn't compel Jeremy like he did to me. it wasn't real and it made what we had not as real, compelling me not to be afraid of him. it wasn't right.

"Yeah?" I asked, pushing my hair out of my eyes.

'You were just zoning out again, that's all." Stefan shrugged, and I sighed. I hadn't zoned out in thinking about him since I started dating Jeremy.

"Sorry Stef, I didn't mean-"I was cut off when a man walked up to me, holding a bouquet of red roses.

"These are for you, Miss Elizabeth Alessandra Salvatore." The man recited, forcing me to take the beautiful flowers. I could tell almost instantly that he was compelled.

"Who told you to give me these?" I asked, but the man just walked away. I sighed, and looked at the beautiful red roses.

"That was weird." I said, and Stefan nodded.

"Maybe-"started to say, but was cut off by a scream. The smell of blood filled the air, and I struggled to control my thirst.

"Poppy." I said, before walking towards the scream. Stefan followed me, and we met up with Lily and Damon.

"An 'animal attack.' The victim's dead." Damon summarized.

"I don't even need to ask if it was Poppy, do I?" I sighed.

"She wants us to know that she's here." Lily explained. "Okay Damon, you're up." She told Damon.

He nodded, and I gave him a "be careful" look. He just rolled his eyes before walking away. Phase one of Plan Taking The Bitch Down was starting.

_Damon_

Damon didn't have to walk far to find Poppy. She was drinking a glass of scotch and looking smug. "Hello there, Damon." she greeted him with a smirk.

"Poppy, you sure do know how to make a mess." He said, and beamed like he had complimented her.

"Why thank you, Damon." she said, finishing her drink. "Now, what can I help you with?"

"I just came to do this." Damon grabbed Poppy and kissed her roughly. She tasted like scotch and blood.

Poppy blinked up at him when he pulled away. "Hmm, I wonder what that was for." She said. "Not that I didn't like it, Damon. you're one hell of a kisser." Secretly, she was wondering how he was in bed.

"What, a guy can't kiss a hot girl without having some sort of hidden agenda?" Damon asked innocently.

"No, not if that girl is trying to ruin that guys' little sister's life- which I am." Poppy said.

Damon gritted his teeth, but held his anger in. "well, that doesn't mean we can't have fun, Poppy. And I've got to admit, I like your style." He told her.

Against Poppy's better judgment, she kissed Damon again. If he was just trying to play her, she'd kill him. but he was right, why couldn't they have a little fun?

She dragged him into the woods by his leather jacket, their lips never parting. Poppy slammed Damon against a tree roughly, before kissing him harder. Her tongue snaked into his, as his hand snuck up her shirt.

Poppy suddenly howled in pain when Damon stabbed her in the back with a broken branch, using his free hand. "Oopsy daisies." He smirked at the blonde, before taking off.

Poppy glared at him, before following him. Damon Salvatore was dead.

_Poppy_

She followed him to the middle of the woods, where a passage led to a tunnel. Poppy carefully walked down the tunnel, her eyes scanning for Damon.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." She called to him.

Suddenly, Poppy was slammed into the stone walls, causing blood to spurt. Her injury healed quickly, but she spun around to glare at her attacker. Stefan.

Poppy kneed him in the stomach, and broke his right arm. He shouted out in pain, as she made to rip his head off. but then she was stabbed in the throat, and gurgled blood. She pulled out the knife with a flinch of pain, before it healed.

"Hello there, Poppy." Elizabeth smirked at her, before throwing the blonde into a far wall, away from her brother.

"All three of the Salvatores, ganging up on me. let me guess, you're going to kill me?" Poppy laughed humorlessly, as she popped her shoulder back into its socket.

"No, worse."

Poppy managed to fight off Damon, but didn't expect her sister to jump onto her back. Poppy didn't even have time to throw her off, before Lily snapped her neck, knocking her out.

_Elizabeth_

Poppy was in the tomb.

I didn't really believe it at first. It was too easy, it seemed. But she was stuck in the tomb, to rot away. It was worse than death, or so I heard.

After we had locked Poppy away, I went to Jeremy's. the whole time I was kissing him, I was thinking about telling him about what I was. I was scared of his reaction, though. I was scared of him thinking that I was a monster.

Jeremy could tell that I wasn't really into kissing him, and he pulled away. "What's on your mind?" he asked me.

Oh, nothing." I lied, lying down on his bed. Jeremy laid down next to me, and I heard his heart beat fast in his chest. "Do you believe in the supernatural, Jer?" I asked him abruptly.

He raised an eyebrow. "The supernatural?"

"Yeah. You know, werewolves, ghosts, witches, vampires, bigfoot." I asked, hoping that I didn't sound weird when I said "vampire."

"Uh, I don't know. No, I guess. Why are you asking?" he asked.

I shook my head, and sat up. "No reason. I should get home. I'll call you tomorrow."

I absentmindedly kissed him goodnight, and walked out of his house to my car. The entire time, debating whether or not to tell him about me. maybe it was too soon to even be thinking about telling him.

"Hello, love. Did you like the flowers?"

Every particle of my being froze in shock at that voice. For a second, I thought I was imagining it. No, he wasn't here. He couldn't be.

But slowly, I turned around. and there he was. he was smirking at me, his blue eyes smug, and his dark blonde hair short. I was gaping at him. it had been 146 years since I last saw him, and now he was back.

"Klaus."

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **wow, I bet none of you saw that one coming. I swear, I got like twenty reviews saying, "Bitch, mystery dude is Klaus."

Wanna know a secret though? Originally, it wasn't. I had started writing this story before Klaus even came into the TVD plot. Originally, mystery dude was an OC. But then I got a review saying that mystery dude was Klaus, and I really, really liked that idea. So with some help from vdemily, I changed my plot around a little bit to fit him in.

Thank you to: hindansgirl1234, and vdemily for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby ;)


	24. Klaus

**Chapter twenty three**

Klaus

_Elizabeth_

_Mystic Falls, Virginia_

_1864_

"_Have we met?" I asked, as the mysterious man spun me around the dance floor._

_He smirked slightly. "I believe we have." He said in that very sexy British accent._

_He didn't explain any further, and I sighed in annoyance. His smirk grew wider, as if he found annoying me amusing._

"_I am Elizabeth Salvatore." I introduced myself._

_He acted like he already knew who I was. The song ended, and he kissed my hand. "You are a very lovely dancer, Miss Salvatore." He said, then added, "I am Klaus."_

"No, no, no, no, no, no." I repeated, as backed away from him. this was a dream, or more like a nightmare. Klaus was not back here.

"Come on love, you know you missed me." Klaus smirked, following me, as I backed into my car.

I shut my eyes tight, hoping that when I opened them, he would be gone. I felt a hand stroke my cheek, and I knew that this wasn't a nightmare. This was real.

I jerked away from Klaus, my eyes flying open. I glared at him with the intensity of a thousand suns, and then slapped him across the face. It didn't occur to me that I was slapping an original hybrid, only an ex-boyfriend. Anger flashed through Klaus' eyes, and then it disappeared.

"Do you feel better now?" he asked, touching the cheek where I slapped him.

"No, not really." I answered, suddenly aware that he was an original vampire.

"Elizabeth, you can't hate me forever." Klaus said, his hand snaking around my waist. I pushed him away, as felt all the work I had put into getting over him and healing my heart crumble.

"I beg to differ." I mumbled, before ignoring my car and walking away from him. Klaus followed me, and I started running using my vampire speed. Suddenly, Klaus had me pinned beneath him, my back against the road.

"Why are you here? What do you want, Klaus?" I exclaimed, struggling to keep myself together. It was hard though, but I would die if he saw me cry.

"You, Elizabeth. I want you." He breathed, before pressing his lips against mine.

I closed my eyes as he kissed me, waiting for it to be over. I wouldn't let myself kiss him back, and I thought about Jeremy. Technically, I was cheating on him right now.

Soon, it was over. Klaus pulled away from me, and allowed me to sit up. I gave him a disgusted look as I sat up. "Stay away from me." I growled, before running away. This time, he didn't follow me.

My brothers and Lily were in the living room when I walked in. they were celebrating that Poppy was now stuck in the tomb, but all my happiness was drained from me. Lily noticed instantly that something was wrong with me.

"Lizzie, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned, as she walked over to me.

I just shook my head and walked around her to the stairs. "Nothing." I mumbled, before slamming my bedroom door shut and falling onto the bed.

Klaus was back in my life, right after I was just getting it back to normal.

_Mystic Falls, Virginia_

_1864_

_I was walking to the house Klaus was living in. things had been rocky between us ever since I admitted my love for him. I did love Klaus, and one minute he would be telling me how we would be together forever. Then the next minute, he was going on and on about how a vampire's greatest weakness was love, and how he wasn't weak._

_I walked right into the house, it was quiet. "Klaus?" I called, as I walked up to his bedroom. He always heard me when I was coming, and was always waiting for me._

_As I got closer to his bedroom, I heard moaning coming from it. My eyebrows furrowed, as I pushed the door open. I froze in shock, a look of horror on my face, as I watched Klaus screw another girl. _

_It felt like my heart literally shattered, watching the man I loved have sex with another woman. Was she the first? Probably not. I let out an involuntary gasp as I backed into the door. Klaus' blue eyes snapped to me, and he quickly got off of the red head he had been pounding._

"_Elizabeth-" he said, but I was already running away._

_Tears streamed down my cheeks, as I ran down the stairs. I was almost to the door when Klaus suddenly blocked my path. At least he had the decency to put his pants back on._

"_Elizabeth, please just listen to me!" he shouted, as I shook my head, backing away from me._

"_No! you cheated on me, Klaus! I-I loved you, and you were just using me!" I babbled, wiping my tears away._

"_Lizzie, it was not like that-" he tried to say, but I slapped him. _

"_I hate you! Stay away from me, Klaus. I never want to see you again." I snapped, making to go around him and through the doorway._

_But he caught me before I could, a dark look in his eyes. "But we were supposed to be together forever, Elizabeth." He muttered, as I struggled to get away._

"_No, Klaus. You're going to be alone forever. It is what you deserve." I told him in a steady voice._

_My words set him off. "No, I will not." Klaus muttered._

_It all happened in one fluid motion; he bit his wrist and forced me to drink his blood. I gasped and struggled, but swallowed a mouthful. Then he snapped my neck and I was dead on the floor._

I started breaking things.

It started by me picking up a lamp and imagining that it was Klaus. I threw it, hard, against the wall. I got a lot of satisfaction out of hearing it break. That caused me to break a vase, and before I knew it, half of my room was destroyed.

"Lizzie, what the hell are you doing?"

I didn't look up as Damon came into my room. "Breaking things. You should try it, its fun." I told him, picking up a glass box.

Damon grabbed it from me before I could throw it. "What's up with you? Poppy's in the tomb, now you and lover boy can go walking into the sunset." Damon told me, stopping me before I could break anything else.

I sighed, "If only." I muttered, pushing my hair out of my face. I should've told him about Klaus, but it got stuck in my throat.

"What, is there trouble in paradise already?" Damon asked, as I sat down on my bed.

I shook my head. "It's not about Jeremy." I sighed, as I pulled my knees up to my chin.

"Then what's got you like this, Elizabeth?" Damon asked, sounding concerned.

Again, the words got stuck in my throat. "I need a drink." I blurted out, before walking past Damon and out of my room.

Damon followed me, looking concerned for my mental health. Just as I was about to walk out the door, Stefan suddenly appeared in the doorway, looking like he had just seen a ghost.

"Klaus is back."

I stiffened, taking in a deep breath. So my brothers knew who Klaus was.

"What?" Damon exclaimed, walking past me and up to Stefan. "No way."

Stefan nodded grimly. "I saw him when I went to check on Elena. He didn't see me though."

"Are you sure it was him?" Damon demanded, his blue eyes wide.

Stefan nodded, and Damon cursed.

"Klaus is here?" Lily asked, suddenly appearing next to me.

My brothers nodded, while I just stayed stock still. "You know who Klaus is?" Damon asked her.

Lily nodded and sighed. "Yes, I've run across him a few times. How do you two know him?"

"Last year, when he broke his curse. He needed to use Elena, since she was the doppelganger. She almost died, but he became a full hybrid." Stefan summed up.

"We all almost died." Damon added, and I felt anger swell up inside of me. Klaus tried to kill my brothers. Even if he was now a hybrid that couldn't die, I was going to kill him.

"The question is: why is he back?" Damon asked out loud.

_Because he wants me back, _I thought, but I couldn't say it out loud. How would my brothers and Lily react when they find out that I was in love with an original hybrid?

I-I think I know why." Lily sighed, and I stopped breathing. How did Lily know about Klaus? I never told anybody about him.

"Poppy." She said, and I sighed in relief. Then my eyebrows shot up. Why Poppy?

_Poppy_

She felt so stupid.

When Poppy got out of that damn tomb, she was going to tear all of them limb from limb. Damon, Stefan, Lily, and Elizabeth. All of them were dead.

She angrily paced the tomb, the burn in her throat already starting to increase. And she hadn't even been in the tomb for three hours. Suddenly, the huge rock slab that was blocking the entry way into the tomb was suddenly moved out of the way.

"Hello sweetheart. Miss me?"

Poppy exhaled in relief. "Get me out of here." She demanded, turning around to face Klaus.

"I already have one of my witches working on it." Klaus said, as one of his witches started chanting a spell.

Poppy tapped her foot impatiently, until the witch stopped and turned to Klaus. "It's broken. She is free to leave." He said.

Klaus smirked at Poppy. "You heard the man, Poppaea."

Poppy walked out of tomb, happy to see that there was no invisible force holding her back. "Took you long enough." She commented, pushing her blonde hair out of her face.

"You know, I can always put you back in the tomb." He threatened teasingly.

Poppy rolled her eyes, as they walked out together. "I'm going to kill them all." she told them, already thinking about wearing Elizabeth's ribs as a hat.

"No, you're not. Not even Lilianna." Klaus said, and Poppy glared at him.

"What?" she snapped, and Klaus raised an eyebrow at her.

"You heard me. you're not going to lay a hand on the Salvatores or your sister." He told her.

"They put me in that tomb and left me to rot. I'm going to rip their hearts out, Niklaus!" she exclaimed.

Suddenly, Klaus had Poppy pinned to the wall by her neck. "You kill even one of them, Poppaea, and I will kill _you." _He threatened her.

"You wouldn't." she gasped, and Klaus rolled his eyes.

"I killed my own family, Poppaea. Just because you were my first, doesn't mean I can't kill you." He said.

Poppy groaned, but nodded, and Klaus let go of her. "Fine, I won't kill them." She muttered, rubbing her neck.

"Good, now I have an exe to go woo. Don't make too much of a mess while I'm gone, Poppaea." Klaus said, before walking away from her.

Poppy sighed, and thought about when she first met Klaus.

_France, 1067_

_Poppy wandered around at night, still reeling from her engagement. She didn't want to marry that cave man, she wanted to grab Lily and run far, far away._

"_Well, hello there."_

_Poppy's eyes snapped up to see a handsome man a few feet away from her. "W-who are you?" she stuttered, afraid. _

_The man smirked, and walked closer to Poppy. "My name is Niklaus, but you may call me Klaus." He said, kissing her hand._

_Poppy let him, fearful of this stranger. "My name is Poppaea, but you may call me Poppy." She said, her heart pounding in her chest._

"_I know who you are, Poppaea. I also know what you want. You wish to run far away from your parents and fiancée. I can help you with that." Klaus told her._

"_How?" she asked, curious._

"_I just hope that I do this right- I have never changed a human before." He murmured, ignoring her question._

_Before Poppy knew what Klaus was doing, he forced her to drink his blood. Blue eyes wide, she jerked away from him, blood smeared over her mouth._

"_What are you-" she was cut off when Klaus snapped her neck._

_Elizabeth_

I had my head resting on the bar, as I nursed a glass of rum. I was actually missing when my only problems were Poppy.

"Hello, love."

I groaned, and shut my eyes tight. "Don't call me 'love.'" I mumbled.

Klaus chuckled softly. "Why not? You used to love it before. You also used to love when I-" I cut him off.

"Don't finish that sentence." I said, sitting up. Klaus chuckled again.

"you can't tell me that you didn't miss me, Lizzie." He said, as I finished my drink.

"First, don't call me Lizzie. You lost that right when you cheated on me, and then killed me. second, I didn't miss you." I told him, and Klaus just shook his head.

"Is that why you're so mad at me? I made a mistake, Elizabeth. People make mistakes." He said.

"What's the mistake? Cheating on me or turning me?" I asked, as I signaled for another drink. I was already buzzed, but I yearned to be drunk.

"Cheating on you- I was always going to turn you, Elizabeth." Klaus said softly.

I closed my eyes again, as he touched my cheek. "You know that you missed me, Elizabeth. That you still love me." he murmured, cupping my face gently.

I felt his lips on mine, and for one second, I kissed him back. it was on instinct, but as soon as I realized what I had done, I pulled away. I opened my eyes and glared at him.

"Stay away from me." I snapped, turning my back on him.

Klaus chuckled again. "I'm just keeping the promise I made to you." He told me, before walking away.

I groaned, and threw my drink back. I was completely unaware that my brothers had watched our entire conversation.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: vdemily and Pickle Paige for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :D


	25. secrets revealed

**Chapter twenty four**

Secrets revealed

_Elizabeth_

I stumbled drunkenly into my house, smacking my head on a wall. "Ow, dat didn't feel too good." I giggled, tripping over my feet and falling into the couch.

"Elizabeth, you have a hell of a lot of explaining to do."

I looked up and saw my brothers looking seriously down at me. "Uh oh, looks like Imma in troobles." I burst out laughing, all my problems melting away when I was drunk.

"Maybe we should talk to her when she's sober." Stefan said to Damon.

"Our little sister had Klaus's tongue down her throat tonight. I want some answers, Stefan." Damon said angrily, as Lily walked into the room.

"I want to know as much as you do, Damon, but she's wasted. She's not even capable of walking straight, let alone confessing her secret love affair with Klaus." Lily said, as she helped me off of the couch.

"Lileh, I-I dink my broters are mad at meh." I told her seriously, as she helped me up to my room.

"They caught you kissing Klaus, the evil hybrid. They're just confused, Lizzie." Lily said, as she tucked me into bed.

I closed my eyes and fell asleep, completely unaware of the drama that awaited me when I woke up.

_**~LG~**_

"Oh god, somebody kill me now."

I hadn't been that hung over since the prohibition, when I got wasted simply just to spite the law. My head felt like it was going to explode. I slowly sat up, last night a total blank.

"Okay drunkie, time to wake up."

I flinched at his voice, while rubbing my temples. "Not now, Damon. I'm really, really hungover, and I have no memory of last night." I told him.

"Oh, well let me jog your memory. Your boyfriend's back in town. And not Gilbert. Let me give you a hint, he's a hybrid." Damon said.

I froze, and slowly faced him. "How…" I tried to say, my eyes wide as saucers.

"Stefan and I walked in on you two playing tonsil hockey." He said his voice emotionless. "You have a lot of explaining to do, Elizabeth."

I sighed, and rubbed my eyes. "Okay, I'll explain. Just let me sober up a bit, okay?"

I took a long shower, trying to prolong this conversation as long as possible. My brothers finally knew about Klaus and me, and I was in a lot of trouble. I didn't want to face them, but I had to.

"About time." Damon said coldly, as I walked down the stairs. Stefan stood silently behind him, Lily next to him. I bit my lip as I walked into the kitchen. I poured myself a cup of coffee, and then turned to face my family.

"So, Klaus and I were together once." I said, stating the obvious.

"Yeah, I figured that one out when I saw how deep he had his tongue down your throat." Damon said bitterly.

"He was the one who changed me. I fell in love with him when I was human, and then he broke my heart. Really, he broke my heart more than once. I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys before but… it's not something I like to think about." My eyes stung, and I closed them.

"No, Elizabeth." My eyes popped open as Damon glared at me. "You don't get to hide something as big as being the exe of Klaus from us, and then go around and cry about it."

"I'm not crying," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.

"Damon, don't be a dick." Lily glared, as she walked over and hugged me. "Its okay sweetie, I forgive you." She whispered while holding me.

"Thank you." I whispered back, while inside I felt like shit. Damon was right, I hid the truth from them, and I didn't get to cry about it.

"I'm so, so sorry guys." I told my brothers sincerely. "I should've told you. But now there's nothing I can do now but feel sorry that I didn't."

Stefan sighed. "Lizzie, it's okay. I forgive you."

I smiled slightly at him, while Damon sighed. "You should've told us, Lizzie." He said bluntly.

I nodded. "I know."

"But you're not the first person Klaus has screwed over. I guess… I forgive you too." Damon said.

I shook my head. "It's my fault Klaus is back." I told them, glad that my family had forgiven me. But now I had to deal with Klaus.

"He told me that he came back for me, but I think that he's full of shit." I sighed, running a hand over my face.

"He probably is." Damon agreed, as I finished my coffee.

"There's something that you guys should know." Lily blurted out suddenly.

My brothers and I turned to face her. "What?" Stefan asked.

"Klaus turned Poppy. In fact, she was the first he ever changed." Lily admitted.

My eyebrows shot up. "You don't think…" I said, but Lily was already walking towards the door.

"That Klaus let Poppy out? I have no idea." She replied.

"I'll go with you." Stefan said, and then they left. Damon turned to face me, his eyebrows raised.

"So, you're in love with Klaus." He said, as he poured himself a glass of blood.

"_Was, _I was in love with Klaus. I hate him now." I said, before grabbing my keys.

"Whoa, where are you going?" Damon asked, as I walked towards the door.

"I have to see Jeremy. I just… I need to see him now, Damon." I told him.

"With your crazy hybrid exe running around? I don't think so." Damon said, and I glared at him.

"I'll be extra careful. Please, Damon." I pleaded, and Damon sighed.

"Fine, just… We don't know what he's capable of, Liz. For all we know, he could kidnap you." Damon said.

I smiled softly. "I'll be careful, Damon." I said, before leaving.

It was raining, as I parked in front of Jeremy's house. I knocked on the door, impatient to see Jeremy, to have him comfort me. Jenna answered the door, and told me to go on up to Jeremy's room.

"Hey Ellie." Jeremy grinned as I walked into his room and lay down on his bed. He frowned when he realized that something was wrong with me.

"What's wrong?" he asked, as he sat down next to me, and hugged me to him.

"My exe is in town, the one who broke my house." I sighed. Jeremy instantly hugged me tighter to him.

"I'm so sorry, Ellie. Want me to kick his ass for you?" he offered.

I shook my head, and looked up at him. "No, I want you stay as far away from him as possible, Jeremy. Klaus isn't a good guy." I said, as I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Klaus? What a name." Jeremy muttered.

I smiled slightly. "His full name is Niklaus." I said.

"Even worse."

I laughed slightly. Jeremy had made me feel a lot better. "Thanks Jer, I needed this," I smiled as I kissed him.

Jeremy smiled into the kiss. "Any time, Elle." He mumbled against my lips, a hand twisting into my hair.

We were interrupted when my phone went off. I sighed and pulled away from Jeremy, before answering it. "Hello?" I asked, a bit irritably.

"Poppy's gone. Klaus got her out somehow." Lily said.

I cursed. "How come you never told me that Poppy was his first?" I asked suddenly.

"How come you never told me that you were in love with Klaus?" Lily retorted.

"Touché. I'll see you at home." I said, before hanging up on her.

"That was Lily. I have to go home. A sort of family emergency." I told Jeremy, as I fell back into his arms.

"Your family and their emergencies." Jeremy groaned, as I kissed him quickly.

I grinned slightly. "We're working on it." I said, as I walked out of his room.

As I walked out of the Gilbert house, I was stopped by a familiar voice. "You know if you're trying to make me jealous Elizabeth, its working."

I stopped in my tracks, gritting my teeth. It was as if Klaus had some sort of alarm in his head. Whenever I was healing, getting over him, moving on, it went off, and he had to go make sure that I was still completely heartbroken over him.

"Why can't you just leave, Klaus? I'm happy, the happiest I've been since 1864. I have my brothers back, and I'm finally over you. Yet here you are, trying to ruin it all." I turned around and glared at him.

"You're not over me, sweetheart. Trust me, you may pretend to, for your brothers and that human boy, you're just as in love with me as you were when you were human." Klaus said, his fingers grazing over my cheek.

I glared and pushed him away. He frowned at me, and suddenly my back was pressed into his chest, and his hands were on my neck. My eyes widened, as he tightened his grip.

"If you were anyone else, love, your head would already be at my feet. But there's just something so sexy about your attitude," Klaus breathed into my ear. Then he kissed my forehead, and let me go.

Again, I felt myself unravel at his presence. "I don't love you anymore, Niklaus. Any love I had for you died when you killed me." I told him firmly, though my voice was shaky.

Klaus ignored my words. "Do you wish to know why I am back, love? I made you a promise, and I like to think that I am a man of my word." He smirked slightly, as my eyebrows furrowed.

"What are you talking about, Klaus? You never made me any promises." I said.

Klaus smirked at me. "You wouldn't remember, sweetheart. You were dead."

_Mystic Falls, Virginia_

_1864_

_Klaus frowned down at Elizabeth's dead body. How that little human girl could make him feel so much, he would never know. She wasn't good for him; she was bringing out his humanity._

_Still, Klaus kneeled down next to her body, and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her lightly on her cold lips, and brushed a lock of hair out of her gorgeous blue eyes._

"_I will come back for you, Elizabeth. Once I have my curse broken, we will be together again. I promise." He whispered to her, before laying her back down on the floor._

_Elizabeth Salvatore was terrible for him, but he couldn't let her go._

I gaped at Klaus, and he smirked at me. "You see, Elizabeth? I came back for you. I am now a full hybrid, and so we can be together again." He said, walking towards me.

I frowned, and stepped away. "No, we can't. I… you shattered my heart, Klaus. I loathe you. Now do me a favor, and stay the hell away from me." I said firmly.

Klaus frowned at me. "I want you, Elizabeth. And I'm a man who gets what he wants. I don't care who I have to kill to get you back, but I will. That's a promise."

Klaus kissed me, and I was too in shock to push him away. When he pulled away, he smirked once more, before disappearing. I stared at the spot where he was at moments ago, and closed my eyes. He had done it again; all the hard work I had put into moving on was destroyed.

I gulped once, before I thought of the one thing I could do to make sure that he was never in my life again.

I ran home, and up to my room. I packed up my things as fast as I could. I wanted to be gone before anyone could stop me.

"What are you doing, Elizabeth?" I didn't even look at my brothers as I packed up my things. Not even they could stop me now.

"I'm' leaving Mystic Falls. Forever."

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to vdemily, for giving me the ideas for this chapter.

Thank you to: HawthorneTree, hidansgirl1234, Funnygirlash101, vdemily, Pickle Paige, and DivineOrder for reviewing!

Reviews are appreciated!

~Abby :)


	26. under the influence

**Chapter twenty five**

Under the influence

_Elizabeth_

"What?" by brothers repeated, and I sighed. Then I turned around to face them.

"I can't do it, okay? Klaus is back, and he wants me back. who the hell knows what he's going to do to get me back? who he's going to kill? God, he's been back one day, and he's already screwing with my mind." I exclaimed, tugging at my hair.

"Lizzie, you can't just run away." Damon said, and I glared at him.

"I'm not running away." I said, but Stefan nodded in agreement with Damon.

"You are, Elizabeth. You're running away from your problems. It doesn't matter though, Klaus will find you eventually." Stefan said.

"Well, at least I'll have some time away from him." I said calmly, returning to my packing.

"What about Jeremy, Elizabeth?" Damon tried.

"It never would've worked out anyway. He's human and I'm a vampire, I was stupid to convince myself that we would work." I said coolly.

"Fine, what about Damon and I? and Lily? You're leaving us behind too, you know." Stefan argued, matching my calm and cool tone.

"Who knows, Klaus might take out some of his anger that you got away on us." Damon added, and I stiffened. I never thought about that.

"Don't leave, Lizzie. I get it, you're messed up big time right now, but what kind of big brothers would we be if we let you run away?" Damon said softly, and I closed my eyes.

"You're not alone in this, Lizzie. Klaus has messed with all of us, but we're going to figure out a way to keep him out of our lives forever." Stefan said in an equally soft voice.

I sighed, knowing that I wasn't going to leave. "Fine, you guys win." I mumbled, starting to unpack.

"Good, and the next time I catch you packing, I'm going to kick your ass." Damon said in his normal tone, before walking out of my room.

"I'm glad you're staying, Lizzie." Stefan said, hugging me. I sighed, I needed one of his big brother hugs badly.

"I just want him out of my life, Stef." I muttered.

It was impulsive of me, to decide to run away. My brothers were right. There was no way I was getting rid of Klaus that easily.

_Damon_

"So Poppy is running around with her best friend Klaus? Great." Damon groaned as he and Lily sat at the bar at the Mystic Grill.

"We need to watch Lizzie." Lily said, as she ordered two more shots of bourbon. "She's very, very impulsive, Damon. and Klaus being back in town is just going to keep setting her off."

"Man, do I want to rip that guy's heart out and shove it up his-" Damon cut himself off to do another shot.

Lily and Damon had a friendship, and a reasonably strong one at that. But still, there was a charge of sexual tension between them ever since they almost kissed a few weeks ago. Damon didn't know why he hadn't just pushed the girl up against a wall and kissed her yet. Maybe it was because she was his first real friend, or maybe because she was his little sister's best friend. It was probably because of both.

"Lilianna, it has been a long time."

Damon and Lily both stiffened, as they were joined by the devil himself. "Not long enough, Niklaus." Lily retorted, taking a shot away from Damon. why were Salvatores so self-destructive?

"Aw, don't be like that, Lilianna. We used to be friends." Klaus said, and Lily glared at him.

"We were never friends, Niklaus. I used to follow my sister wherever she went, and she followed you. There was no friendship involved." She snapped, before standing up. "By the way, had I known that you were the reason Elizabeth became the thing hates most about herself, I would have killed you before you became a full-fledged hybrid, and could not die."

"Come, Damon." Lily said to Damon, who was half-drunk, and was bound to do something stupid.

"One second _Lilianna, _I need to talk to my little sister's exe." Damon said, and Klaus smirked.

"No way in hell, we're going." Lily said, and Damon rolled his eyes.

"He's not going to kill me, Lily. If he does, it will ruin his already very impossible chance at getting Elizabeth back." Damon said, and Klaus's smirk grew bigger.

"Do not fret, Lilianna, I will return Damon to you in one piece." Klaus said, but Lily didn't move.

"Damon-" she started to say, but he cut her off.

"I don't need a babysitter, Lily. Go home." He snapped.

Her silver eyes widened slightly, before she glared and marched off. Damon didn't pay her temper tantrum any mind, and turned back to Klaus.

"You need to leave Elizabeth alone." He told him bluntly, taking a bottle of whiskey out from behind the bar counter.

"I am afraid that I can't do that, Damon. you see, I let her get away once, I don't plan on making that mistake twice." Klaus said nonchalantly, as Damon poured himself another shot.

"Dude, she hates you. Let her go already." Damon said, but Klaus was unaffected by his words.

"There is a very fine line between love and hate, Damon. Elizabeth loved me once, I doubt that she ever stopped." He said.

"Then you really don't know my sister. Elizabeth doesn't forgive or forget. You screwed her over and broke her heart. She's never going to forgive you for that. So save yourself the trouble, and leave." Damon said, his anger at Klaus flaring up under his buzz.

"I suppose it's a good thing that I'm very persistent." Klaus smirked. "I don't plan on leaving this town without Elizabeth on my arm. It would be wise for you and your brother to stay out of my way."

Klaus stood up, and Damon stood up with him. "I still owe you a kick in the ass for breaking Lizzie's heart." He said, swaying slightly.

Klaus laughed humorlessly. "I am a hybrid and an original. The only reason your heart is still in your chest is because then it would take even longer for Elizabeth to forgive me." he said.

"You're kidding yourself if you think that she's ever going to go back to you." Damon informed the hybrid.

Klaus didn't respond, just walked towards the door. "I wouldn't keep Lilianna waiting, it is impolite." He said calmly, before disappearing out of the bar.

Damon grabbed his bottle before walking out into the rain. Klaus was long gone, but Lily was waiting patiently for him. "Now that you have that out of your system, can I count on you not to do anything stupid for the next twenty four hours?" she asked, as they walked towards his car.

"How can you be so calm, Lily? Klaus wants Elizabeth back, to hurt her even more and take her away from us, and all you give him is some attitude. What kind of best friend are you?" Damon said, drinking from his bottle.

Lily glared at him. "When, during this evening, did you become such a dick?" she asked, taking his bottle away.

"When did you become such a buzz kill?" he retorted, trying to take the alcohol back.

Lily smashed it against the concrete, causing the glass to shatter. "I am a very good best friend, Damon. I've been there for Elizabeth when you weren't. just because I'm not going around making an ass out of myself and threatening a hybrid who can easily kill me, like you, doesn't mean that I don't care about Lizzie." She snapped, before disappearing into the rainy night.

Damon sighed, running a hand over his wet hair. Slowly, he made his way home by walking. There was no way that he could drive home that drunk. When he got back to his house, it was silent. Stefan must've taken Elizabeth somewhere to cheer her up.

Damon walked into the library, to find Lily reading _Romeo and Juliet. _"Romeo is a tool." Damon commented.

"Oh, so first you say mean and hurtful things to me, and then you insult my favorite book? You're on a roll tonight." Lily said, shutting the worn book.

Damon sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm drunk and pissed off. I tend to say things that I don't mean when I'm that."

"You suck at apologies." Lily told him bluntly.

"Well, I make up in other places, Lilianna. Especially in the bedroom." Damon smirked at her.

That wasn't the first suggestive comment Damon had made to Lily, so she didn't raise her eyebrows. She did smile though. "You smiled, 'I'm off the hook." Damon pointed off, and Lily sighed.

"I was bound to forgive you anyway." She said, turning to the large wall of books behind her.

It was probably the alcohol, but Damon suddenly felt the urge to do the one thing he had been suppressing for weeks. With the bourbon he had been drinking blocking out the little self-control he had, Damon walked up to Lily.

"Yes, Damon-" Lily started to say, turning around. She was cut off when Damon kissed her.

She was shocked to the core, as Damon pressed his lips against hers, his arms wrapping around her waist. He knew that there was a good chance that Lily would push him away and slap him, but he kept on kissing her.

Eventually, Lily sighed, and kissed him back. she wrapped an arm around his neck, and a hand buried itself in his hair. Damon was drunk, but Lily had no excuse for kissing him back. neither had an excuse for liking it so much.

"Lily? Damon?"

The two broke apart at the sound of Elizabeth's voice. Damon smirked slightly down at a panting Lily. "I won't tell if you won't." he whispered, before walking out of the library.

Lily stared after him, wondering what the hell took him so long.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: vdemily and Danni54 for reviewing!

Please review!

~Abby :D


	27. women

**Chapter Twenty six**

Women

_Elizabeth_

Stefan had taken me out to the cave, to distract me from Klaus. Looking at pictures made me think of happier times, Klaus-free times. It made me miss being a child, where the only pain that you felt was when you scraped your knee on the ground.

"How come you never mentioned him, Lizzie?" Stefan blurted out, as I ran my hands over the faded paintings on the walls.

I sighed. I knew that he meant back when we were human. There were no secrets between Stefan, Damon, and I. at least until the vampires showed up. "Because you and Damon were too busy fighting over Katherine to really pay attention to me. Besides, he was my secret. I felt so mature, being with Klaus. I didn't want you two to kill my buzz," I admitted.

"Still, there were no secrets-" Stefan started to argue, but I cut him off.

"Stefan, when Katherine showed up, it was like I didn't exist. You didn't have time for me or my petty crush on a very old, very dangerous vampire anymore. Miss Katherine made sure of that," I muttered.

Stefan sighed, knowing that my words were true. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth," he whispered, and I smiled slightly up at him.

"Don't worry about it. I let my anger at you and Damon go a long time ago. Blood is thicker than water, after all," I told him, as it started to rain harder.

"We should get back," I said, and Stefan nodded. I felt better, after being in the caves with my brother. It reminded me that I had a life outside of Klaus and all his heartache that he caused me.

"Lily? Damon?" I called as Stefan and I walked back into the boarding house. I heard muffled noises coming from the library, and started walking towards it. Just then, Damon appeared in front of me, looking drunk and very smug.

"Hi Lizzie!" he grinned, picking me up and spinning me around. "Did I ever tell ya how much I love ya?"

My nose wrinkled- he smelled like whiskey. "What did you do? Inhale a liquor store?" I asked, as Lily walked up to us, looking dazed with a goofy grin on her lips.

What was up with my best friend and brother?

"Hey, you're supposed to keep Damon from doing anything stupid," I told her, as drunk-Damon put me down on the ground.

"He's alive, isn't he?" she retorted, though I could hear her heart pounding a mile a minute.

"What if he would've run into Klaus? Damon would've been dead!" I said, slightly annoyed. But she was right, at least Damon was alive.

Lily bit her lip, and I narrowed my eyes at her. "Lily…" I said, and she sighed.

"We ran into him at the bar. Klaus and Damon got into a sort of fight over you, but Klaus wouldn't of have hurt Damon- he knew that you would never forgive him for that," Lily said quickly.

"I never going to forgive him anyways," I muttered, walking up to my room. I was so stressed out and tired physically and emotionally, that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit my pillow.

_**~LG~**_

The next day, I was at the Grill with Jeremy, helping him write his English paper. I was on high alert for Poppy or Klaus, but it was nice to be able to pretend to be human with Jeremy. I needed him right now, more than I could ever tell him.

"Anything new from your exe?" Jeremy asked, as I wrote his outline for him.

I shook my head. "He wants me back, but he's never going to get me back," I said, and Jeremy smirked slightly.

"I'm willing to fight for you, if I have to," he informed me, and I smiled slightly.

"There's no fighting necessary, I'm all yours," I told him, kissing him.

His lips were soft and warm and his mouth tasted like wintergreen gum. I pulled away, and sighed in contentment. I was falling so hard for Jeremy Gilbert.

"I lo-" Jeremy started to say suddenly, but was cut off when a waitress walked up to us with a glass of rum in her hand.

"From Klaus," she informed me, setting the glass down in front of me.

I frowned and looked around the bar for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Jeremy raised an eyebrow at me. "Wait, isn't Klaus your exe?" he asked.

I nodded absentmindedly, as I picked up the glass of rum tentatively. I snipped it, and was immediately hit by a mouthwatering smell.

Blood.

I pushed the glass away, and turned to Jeremy. "Hey, why don't we get out of here? We can go back to your place and order in. besides, I really want to see _Live Free or Die Hard. _By the way you talk about it, it should be amazing," I informed him, as pulled him out of the booth.

Jeremy sighed, and shook his head as he followed me. "I still can't believe that you never saw it," he said.

"I can't believe that you never saw _The Notebook," _I retorted. "We'll watch it after _Die Hard."_

Jeremy groaned. "I can't believe that you're making me watch a chick flick," he whined playfully, and I giggled.

"I promise that I'll make it worth your while," I said with a seductive smirk.

Jeremy kissed me in front of the door, before holding the door open for me, so that we could go start our movie marathon. Suddenly, the waitress appeared again.

"Klaus wants to see you," she informed me, and it took me about two seconds to realize that she was compelled.

"Tell him to go to hell," I told her quietly so that Jeremy wouldn't overhear.

"He said that if you don't come see him, that I should kill myself," she said, and my eyes widened. Klaus knew me too well, even the vampire version of me. He knew that I wouldn't let an innocent die during his little game to get me back.

"Jeremy, just go. I have to go talk to somebody, but I'll meet you at your house. Okay?" I said, as his eyebrows furrowed.

"You sure?" he asked, and I nodded.

"It won't take very long, don't start the movie without me," I said with a slight smile.

I kissed him quickly, before following the waitress to a booth in the very back of the bar. Klaus was sitting in it, a smirk on his face.

"Thank you, sweet heart," he said to the waitress. "You don't have to kill yourself. Forget this ever happened."

"Thank you," she said, before walking away.

I glared as I sat down in the booth, far away from him. "What do you want?" I snapped.

"You just love making me jealous, don't you, Elizabeth?" Klaus's blue eyes darkened when he turned his gaze to me. "Is snogging that Gilbert boy really necessary?"

I rolled my eyes. "I hate to break it to you Klaus, but some things in my life don't revolve around you," I snapped.

"No, only the good parts," he retorted with a smirk.

I crossed my arms over my chest, and turned away from him. "Why are here? Why now? I know, you're here to 'win me back' and all that jazz, but it's not like I've been living under a rock for the past hundred and forty six years," I said.

"Well, it was part of the promise, darling. I would come back for you when I had my curse broken and all my affairs settled. This would be the time," Klaus said, taking a sip of his drink.

"What were you playing at, sending me that drink?" I asked, glaring at him. I was wishing that I was with Jeremy instead of him.

Klaus raised his eyebrows. "I was under the impression that rum was your favorite drink. I thought that it was a friendly gesture, but obviously not. I swear, I have lived over a thousand years, and I still do not understand you women," he sighed.

"That rum had blood in it," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Yes, and unless I've been doing it wrong my entire life, that's what vampires drink," Klaus retorted, raising an eyebrow.

"The last thing that I needed was to go into blood frenzy around Jeremy," I snapped.

"Poppaea told me that you used to be amazing, Elizabeth. Not a ripper, but better. Or worse, depends on the way you look at it. But now you're resigned to blood bags, thanks to Lilianna. I just want you to remember who you are. Your brother Stefan could use that same reminder," Klaus said, finishing his drink.

"You stay away from my brothers, and Lily," I growled.

Klaus raised his hands in an "I surrender," pose. "And have you even angrier at me? I don't think so."

I was silent for a few moments. "Why are you even back for me, Klaus? We were together for months, and I was hopelessly in love with you the entire time. You never even said that you liked me, let alone loved me."

Klaus's gaze softened. "Just because I never said it out loud, doesn't mean that I don't care about you, Lizzie," he said softly.

"Well, then you have a weird way of showing it," I muttered.

"Who do you think told Poppy about you?" Klaus continued on, looking determined.

"What?" I asked, confused.

_1871_

_Klaus watched from a distance as Elizabeth tore her teeth into a human's neck. He was all for vampires killing, but Elizabeth was almost an animal. She looked like one, with her dress ripped, her hair a knotted mess, and dried blood all over her body. She was also alone. Completely and utterly alone. He didn't want her to be alone._

"_You sent for me?" Poppy said a few days later._

"_I have a favor to ask of you, Poppaea," Klaus said, turning to look at the first vampire he turned. Even though Poppy wasn't the only vampire he had turned, they were still close. She still did what he told her to do._

"_What might that be, Niklaus?" she asked, her blonde hair glowing in the night._

"_If you go into town at tonight, you will find a very beautiful but very wild looking young vampire killing. I need you to help her, Poppy. I need you to be with her. She needs somebody," he said._

_Poppy raised a blonde brow. "Are my ears deceiving me or do I detect concern in your voice, Niklaus?"_

_Klaus rolled his eyes. "Just do it, Poppy," he ordered, before walking away._

"You sent _Poppy _to me?" I asked, my eyes wide.

"I didn't want you to be alone, Elizabeth," he said softly.

I glared at him. "You do realize that Poppy has spent the last fifty years trying to kill me? She turned me into a monster, Klaus!" I exclaimed, standing up. "I would've rather been alone, then have her."

"I didn't want you to be alone, Elizabeth!" Klaus shouted after me.

"If you didn't want me to be alone Niklaus, then how come you just didn't be with me yourself?" I shot back, before marching away.

Klaus stared at Elizabeth's retreating figure and sighed. He thought that she would be happy to learn that he cared enough about her, to not want her to be alone. But no, Elizabeth didn't see that the way Klaus wanted her to see it.

He would never understand women.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Chella8181 and Pickle Paige for reviewing!

Keep the reviews coming!

~Abby ;)


	28. caught

**Chapter twenty seven**

Caught

_Lily_

Lily couldn't face Damon the day following their kiss. He had a bad hangover, which only fueled her belief that their kiss was a drunken mistake on his part. On her part, it was something that she had been wanting for a long time.

Damon was her best friend's seriously messed up big brother. To go after him would be in violation of the girl code, and Elizabeth wouldn't be very happy. That was another reason why Lily stayed hidden in her room, away from Damon.

But Damon didn't get the memo that Lily was avoiding him, and walked into her room while Lily was trying to read _Romeo and Juliet. _"Ugh, you're ancient, you can't tell me that you don't know a cure for a hangover," Damon whined, lying across her bed.

Lily's breath caught in her throat, and she kept her eyes on the old words. "I'm afraid that there isn't one Damon, its nature's punishment for getting drunk in the first place," she said coolly.

Damon watched her with a raised eyebrow. "Did I do something to piss you off? You've been avoiding me the entire day," he pointed out.

"I'm not avoiding you," Lily lied, finally looking at him.

"Really? Because you've been in your room all day reading that overrated book, when I know for a fact that you have it memorized," Damon said.

Lily sighed. He didn't even remember their kiss.

"It's a classic," she argued weakly, hurt that Damon didn't remember the passionate kiss that had kept her awake half the night.

"Is this about the library, Lily?" Damon said bluntly, sighing. Lily's silver eyes widened.

"You remember?" she asked, surprised.

Damon rolled his eyes. "I wasn't that drunk."

Lily smiled slightly as Damon continued. "So, are you mad at me for kissing you? I mean, it was bound to happen sooner or later."

But Lily had already tossed the centuries old book across the room and jumped on top of Damon. Without another word, her soft lips were on his, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Damon kissed her back just as eagerly, and flipped them over. Despite being centuries older, Lily let Damon take control. She didn't think about Elizabeth or how Damon wasn't over Katherine, or anything. She didn't think at all, she just felt.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Lily and Damon broke apart as a smirking blonde walked into the room. "You just love my sloppy seconds, don't you Lil?" Poppy said, as Lily glared at her sister.

"That implies that I was your firsts, Poppy," Damon retorted, angry at the interruption.

"And here I thought that we had something special, Damon," Poppy said sarcastically.

Damon just smirked in return, while Lily remained frozen. "How's Lizzie going to feel when she finds out that her big bro and her bestie are hooking up behind her back?" Poppy continued, pacing the room with a gigantic smirk on her face.

Suddenly, Lily launched herself at Poppy, sending them into a wall. Poppy's head smashed into the wall, but she quickly retaliated by kicking Lily out of the room, before following her. Damon just watched as the sisters fought.

"My little sis has a boyfriend, how adorable!" Poppy laughed mockingly, as Lily punched her in the jaw.

"Should I tell Damon about the last boy you fell for Lil, or do you want to do the honors? It's only fair, since it seems like he's heading down the road," Poppy continued, kicking Lily swiftly in the stomach.

"Shut up," Lily growled, before pushing Poppy down the stairs. "Just shut your damn mouth!"

Poppy was gone before she hit the bottom of the stairs. Lily sighed, and rubbed her broken hand. It healed before Damon appeared at her side.

"Well, that was kind of hot," he said, and Lily gave him a look.

What are we going to do? Poppy's going to tell Elizabeth, and then-" Lily was cut off when Damon pinned her against the wall and kissed her.

"Let future Lily and Damon worry about it," Damon mumbled against her lips, before kissing her harder.

Lily just groaned in defeat, and let Damon pull her back to her bedroom.

_Elizabeth_

I giggled as Jeremy wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me. I kissed him back, my hand going into his brown hair. He had me pinned under him on the couch, but I easily flipped us over.

"How'd you do that?" Jeremy asked with wide eyes, my strength surprising him.

I just smirked. "I'm just full of surprises," I told him, before pulling of his shirt.

Completely ignoring the movie playing, Jeremy and I made out on his couch. I felt my bra unhook, and then Jeremy managed to flip us over again. This time, I let him take control.

"Hey gu- woah."

Jeremy got off of me, and we both looked up to see Jenna. "Oh, hey Jenna," Jeremy said awkwardly.

She shook her head, and muttered, "Teenagers, they go at it like rabbits," before walking into the kitchen.

"Well that was awkward," I said as I hooked my bra back on.

"Tell me about it," Jeremy muttered, and we turned our attention back to the movie.

After a while, something popped into my head, as Jeremy and I sat on the couch like good teenagers. His arm was around my shoulders, but that was it for physical contact. We were both very aware of Jenna watching us from the kitchen.

"Hey, Jer?" I asked, looking at him.

"Yeah Elle?" he asked, his eyes were still on the TV screen.

"What were you going to say earlier, at the Grill? Before the waitress interrupted?" I asked, curious.

Jeremy sighed. "Forget about it. It was too soon, I just got caught up in the moment," he muttered.

My heart skipped a beat. I thought that I knew what he was going to say. "Yeah, maybe it is too soon," I agreed.

The idea that Jeremy might've been about to tell me that he loved me, made me think if I loved him back. I liked him, a lot. But did I love him?

I shook my head slightly. When I realized that I was in love with Klaus, it just occurred to me. If and when I fell in love with Jeremy, I'd just know it. It wasn't something that I could think about.

When it was eleven at night, I kissed Jeremy goodnight. "I'll see you tomorrow," I told him, before leaving.

I scanned the dark, silent neighborhood as I walked to my car. Thankfully he was nowhere to be found. However, there was a note under my windshield wipers. I apprehensively plucked it off and read it.

_I was hoping that I wouldn't have to threaten you, Elizabeth. I was hoping that you would come back to me on your own will, but that's not happening._

_The next time I see you and that Gilbert boy together, I'll kill him._

_-Klaus_

I stared at the note, my worst fears realized. Klaus wasn't playing around anymore. He wanted me back, and he was willing to drop a few bodies to make it happen.

_Klaus_

When Klaus imagined getting Elizabeth back, it was quick and easy. Simple. She would be upset in the beginning, but he would manage to sweet talk her back into his arms. Elizabeth always forgave him almost right away, whenever Klaus imagined their reunion. But that wasn't happening.

Klaus was getting impatient and irritated, that winning Elizabeth's heart back was taking so long. He just wanted her to forgive him, so that they could leave this town. He was still in the midst of making his hybrid army, and Elizabeth was distracting him from them.

He knew that his little threat against Jeremy Gilbert wouldn't magically send Elizabeth running into his arms. It was a desperate move made out of annoyance and jealousy. No, Klaus needed time to convince Elizabeth that she still loved him. But that wasn't going to happen, with her brothers and Lilianna making sure that he stayed far away from her.

He needed them to be distracted.

A plan formed in his head, and Klaus picked up his phone. He made a few calls, and managed to find the phone number he was looking for.

"Who is this?"

"Hello, love," Klaus smirked. "I have a favor I need to ask of you."

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **maybe it's too soon to ask, but what team are you guys? Team Jerizabeth or team Klazibeth?

Happy Valentine's day!

Thank you to: Pickle Paige and vdemily for reviewing!

Review please!

~Abby ;)


	29. the distraction

**Chapter twenty eight**

The distraction

_Elizabeth_

I was up half the night, thinking about Klaus's note. He made a clear threat against Jeremy, that if I ever saw him again, he'd die. But was a selfless enough to let Jeremy go? I didn't think that I could.

In the morning, I walked down to the kitchen, needing coffee badly. I rubbed my eyes, as I poured myself a big cup. Nobody else was up, but the silence was a loud, suffocating one.

As I settled down on the couch with my coffee, I sighed as my lack of sleep hit me. I was probably going to pass out on the couch, despite my coffee. Suddenly, I felt that I wasn't alone.

"Elena?" I asked, confused, when I turned around and saw her. "What are you doing here?"

I saw her brown eyes widen slightly when she saw me. "Oh, I was with Stefan last night," she shrugged.

"Oh, okay," I said, before returning to my coffee. "Is he still sleeping?"

"Yeah," she said, as I studied her over my cup. She looked different, she seemed different. Prouder, more conceited. I frowned, and Elena raised an eyebrow at me.

"What, Elizabeth?" she asked, walking slowly towards me. I just shook my head at her, before standing up.

"I think I'm gonna go back to bed," I said, standing up.

Elena watched as I walked towards the stairs, empty mug in hand. She didn't even have time to scream, before I slammed her against a wall.

"What the hell, Elizabeth?" she exclaimed, my hands wrapping around her neck.

"It's been a long time, Katherine. I gotta say, I thought that you were dead. What a bummer, that you're still kicking," I smirked slightly at her, my hands tightening.

Katherine kicked me off of her, and I slammed into the farthest wall. "I thought that you were dead too, Elizabeth. I'm kind of glad that you're not- I always wanted that honor for myself," she smirked back.

"Now, what gave it away? I thought that I was getting pretty good at being Elena," Katherine asked, as I got up.

"Stefan slept over at Elena's last night. His room was empty this morning, and I would've seen if anyone had come in," I said, not believing my luck. If my father came back from the dead, then literally every single one of my demons would be in Mystic Falls.

"What the hell is going on?"

I saw Damon run down the stairs, Lily following closely behind him. Katherine smirked at my brother when she saw him. "Damon, it's been too long," she told him, as Lily frowned at her.

"Katerina?" she asked, her midnight black hair falling in her face.

"Lilianna. the last time I saw you, you were about to have a stake shoved into your heart by your sister," Katherine mused.

"What the hell are you doing here, Katherine?" Damon asked, and I was glad to see that he looked less than thrilled to see her.

"Just checking up on my favorite founding family," Katherine said innocently. "I had no idea that Elizabeth was still running around- how unfortunate."

I lunged at her, the thought of ripping her throat out the only thing on my mind. Katherine easily dodged my attack, and sent a punch into my jaw.

"Ugh, I gotta say Katherine, you've dropped on my Least Favorite Persons list. but now that I know you're still alive playing mind games, you just shot up to the top," I growled, as my jaw healed.

"Where's Stefan?" Katherine asked, before looking at me and smirking slightly. "Oh right, he's with Elena." Katherine's nose wrinkled, as anger flooded through me again.

I lunged for her again, but this time Lily held me back. "Calm down, Elizabeth," she told me warningly.

Katherine smirked at me tauntingly. "Yeah, don't let your temper get the best of you, Lizzie. It'd be a shame to ruin my nails, clawing your heart out of your chest. I just painted them."

Damon threw her into a wall when she said that, his eyes blazing. "Don't you ever threaten my sister again, you little bitch," he growled.

Katherine smirked at him, getting up from the floor. "You're so hot when you're angry, Damon," she purred, biting her lip.

I noticed Lily stiffen, and my passive friend turned aggressive. She broke a chair leg off, and shoved it into her stomach. Katherine groaned in pain, as Lily breathed heavily. Damon and I raised an eyebrow at her, when she turned to face us. Lily just shrugged, and walked up the stairs.

"You should call Stefan, let him know that we can add one more person to the list of people Elizabeth should be kept far away from," she said her passive voice, before disappearing.

When I looked back to where Katherine had been with a chair leg in her stomach, she was gone.

_**~LG~**_

I was on house arrest, locked in my room while Lily, Stefan, and Damon decided what to do. I hated that they were treating me like a baby. But, according to them, Katherine and Poppy had made it clear that they wanted me dead. And who the hell knew what Klaus wanted from me.

I used that time to think about what to do about Jeremy. I had to let him go, but I didn't know if I could. I groaned, and shut my eyes tight. I was stuck in a real mess, one that I didn't know how to get out of. The only way that I could be with Jeremy was if Klaus was dead. But Klaus couldn't die.

Despite being under house arrest, I snuck out my window. I needed to take a walk, and sort through my thoughts. It was overcast and cold outside, and I was careful not to past any windows, as I made my way into the forest.

I didn't know how long I had been walking, when I felt another presence. I figured that my brothers and Lily had found out that I escaped. "I'm sorry, I just needed to clear-" I started to say, but was cut off when my neck was snapped and everything went black.

_**~LG~**_

_Katherine_

Katherine found that distracting the Salvatores wasn't nearly as easy as it had been when they were human. But it was still possible- she had made them choose her over their precious baby sister. If she could do that, she could do anything.

The fact that she was running around, pretending to be Elena was a distraction itself. She didn't know how long she was supposed to distract them, along with Lilianna. She didn't like being back here in the first place. It went against every instinct Katherine had, being in the same town as the man she had spent her entire vampire life running from.

As Katherine walked right into the boarding house, she thought about the phone call that led her here.

"_Who is this?" Katherine asked, when she answered her cellphone._

"_Hello, love. I have a favor I need to ask of you."_

_Katherine froze. No, it wasn't possible. There was no way that he could've gotten her number._

"_Klaus?" she asked, praying that it wasn't him._

"_It has been too long, Katerina. But as I said before, I need a favor," Klaus said._

"_How did you get my number?" Katherine demanded. She was going to destroy this phone._

"_Let's just say, you're not nearly as good at hiding as you think," Klaus told her._

_Katherine was about to smash her phone on the ground, when Klaus said, "I wouldn't hang up on me if I were you, sweetheart. I need you to do something for me."_

"_Why would I help you?" Katherine snapped._

"_Because, you'll live longer if you do," he said casually. _

"_You've already made it clear that I'm going to suffer before I die," Katherine countered._

_Klaus sighed. "The reason I'm even letting you run around, thinking that you're safe from me, is because I've been too busy to plan your death. You have two options, Katerina. Option one, you help me, and I'll let you live two centuries longer than I originally had in mind. Or, option two, you don't help me, and then we can begin your five century long death. What is your choice?"_

_Katherine gnawed on her lip. She could run, but something told her that Klaus's minions wouldn't be too far behind. "What do you need me to do?" she asked quietly._

"_What you do best, love. Distract the Salvatores," was all Klaus said, before hanging up._

Katherine walked into the living room, to hear Damon, Stefan, and Lily arguing about her. Lily was glaring at Damon, and Katherine smirked.

"Trouble in paradise?" she asked, a hand on her hip. It had been obvious to Katherine the minute that she saw Damon and Lily, that they were together. It drove her crazy, too. It was Stefan and Elena all over again.

Damon groaned when he saw her. "Why can't you just go away?"

"Does that mean that you don't want my help, Damon?" Katherine asked, batting her eyelashes.

"Why would we need your help?" Stefan asked coolly.

"Well, Klaus is running around Mystic Falls again. I thought that you'd want to get rid of him, but I guess I'm wrong," Katherine asked innocently.

"You don't know how to get rid of him," Damon dismissed, but she could tell that he was curious.

Katherine smirked slightly to herself. Distracting the Salvatore brothers definitely was what she did best.

_Elizabeth_

I groaned when I finally came to. The first thing that I noticed was that I was tied to a chair, held down by chains. I could easily snap them, but before I had the chance, I was injected with something.

"Ugh," I moaned, feeling the energy drain from me.

I was slowly building up a tolerance to vervain, but it still weakened me. I looked up, to see an unfamiliar woman. She stared emotionlessly at me. I thought that she was a compelled human, but then a very familiar voice boomed into the room.

"Ariel, thank you love," Klaus smiled at the woman. "You can go."

Ariel nodded and walked out. Klaus turned to me, and I glared at him.

"Don't be like that, sweetheart," he sighed.

"You kidnapped me!" I growled in a hoarse voice.

"I prefer to call it borrowing. I'll return you," Klaus said, as another one of his minions walked into the room.

"Brady," Klaus greeted, and Brady whispered something into his ear that I couldn't hear. Klaus smirked smugly, and Brady left the room.

"Compelling humans to do your dirty work?" I asked, a permanent glare on my face.

"No, those were my hybrids, Elizabeth," he informed me.

I frowned. Because the world needed more hybrids like Klaus.

"My brothers are going to come for me," I told him. Klaus just smirked at me.

"I'm afraid that we'll have some time before that happens. They're a bit distracted right now," Klaus told me, and I frowned.

"Why am I even here?" I asked, feeling some of my strength return.

"Because love, you and I are going to take a trip down memory lane," he told me, before pulling a chair up in front of me, and sitting down in it. "I think that you're too focused on the bad parts of our past, Elizabeth. You need to remember the good parts, you need to remember how much you loved me. I must admit, this was a bit… drastic of me, but it is so hard to have a conversation with you, without having one of your brothers or Lilianna drag you away."

I glowered at him. "The past is irrelevant Klaus. It doesn't matter," I insisted, tugging at the chains wrapped around my arms.

"I beg to differ. What I have learned over the past millennium, is that the past is very important," Klaus said.

"Okay, so your plan is to tell me some pretty stories from when I was human? Go right ahead, as long as I can go home after," I said dismissively.

Klaus smirked at me. "Actually Elizabeth, some of the best moments between us happened when you _weren'_t human."

My eyes widened slightly. I hadn't seen Klaus since he snapped my neck. how could some of our best moments happen when I was a vampire, when I hadn't seen him in 146 years?

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: HawthorneTree, vdemily, Pickle Paige, DivineOrder, and RosesAreWeirdColors for reviewing!

Review, please and thank you :)

~Abby!


	30. 1921

**Chapter twenty nine**

1921

_New York City, New York_

_1921_

"_Nik, you know that I hate this club," Rebekah whined, as Klaus scanned the smoke filled room, ignoring his sister._

"_No one asked you to come," he replied coldly, his blue eyes focusing on the stage. It was Tuesday, she always sang on Tuesdays._

_As if on cue, the dark haired, blue eyed beauty walked onto stage. Klaus noticed blood in the corner of her mouth, and guessed that she had just had a quick snack. A playful, slightly condescending smirk was on her lips. _

_Klaus smiled subconsciously, and Rebekah raised an eyebrow at him. "You came to see the singer, didn't you? She's a vampire, Nik, so don't plan on making her a meal."_

_Klaus already knew this. He knew every single detail about the young woman on the stage. "Hush, Rebekah," was all he said to his original sister, before walking closer to the stage. His eyes never left the young vampire. The same could be said about a lot of other men in the room, human and vampire alike._

_Klaus watched the singer, as she started singing to the pianist. She perched on the piano, and sang with a soft, innocent voice. The singer wasn't innocent, not even when she was human._

_Rebekah scoffed at her brother. "I swear, it's like you're in love with Elizabeth. Will you please just make your move on her, so that we can leave this city? I'm already bored with it. I wish to go to Chicago."_

_Again, Klaus ignored his sister. Rebekah didn't know about his history with Elizabeth. He had yet to reveal himself to her, and wasn't looking forward to when he would. She wouldn't be very happy with him, he knew. _

_But it was a Tuesday night, and Elizabeth always sang on Tuesday nights. Tuesday nights were good nights._

"In 1901, you were in California. In 1915, you were partying in Florida. You were in New York City for a good part of the 20's. I lost track of you during the late thirties- we can thank Lilianna for that- but you were in Georgia from 1949 to 1952. You spent most of your 70's back in California. You were in Chicago in 1986. In 2002, you were studying psychology at NYU. And you've been living in Seattle for years, until you decided to go back to Mystic Falls," Klaus fired off.

I stared at him. "You were watching me?" I asked. I didn't know whether to be flattered or creeped out.

"Not necessarily me, but I did keep an eye you, made sure that you were okay," Klaus said.

I felt my heart melt a little bit, but shook my head. _Remember what he did to you. Remember that he's a monster, _I told myself.

"You said that some of our best times happened when I wasn't human. I haven't seen you since 1864," I told him.

Klaus smirked slightly. "That's because you were made to forget, love," he told me.

"You compelled me?" I asked, frowning at him.

"The only time I ever compelled you, was when you found out what I was. And I only did that to keep you from running around screaming, 'vampire,'" Klaus told me honestly.

"Then who compelled me?" I asked, not believing him.

Klaus sighed. "I never planned to get you back until my curse was broken, Elizabeth. But then, in 1921, we were both at the same club in New York. You hated me at first, but I was winning you back- no compulsion required. I planned to steal you from Poppy, so that we could be together earlier than I initially planned. But then things got complicated, and my sister saw you as a liability," Klaus said bitterly.

I raised my eyebrows. "Rebekah? I met Rebekah?" I asked.

"She didn't like you very much," he responded.

_New York City, New York_

_1921_

_Elizabeth pulled away from the dead man she had pushed up against the alley wall, and wiped her mouth. With a sigh, she noticed that her dress was ruined. She sighed again, and walked back inside the club, where she kept spare dresses just in case. She left the dead body in the alley- she found the reactions of humans who found her victims amusing._

"_There you are," Poppy said, when she found Elizabeth ten minutes later. She was in a new red dress._

"_What happened to your dress?" she asked, as they walked back to the main part of the club._

"_My dinner got messy," Elizabeth replied with a smirk. Then she reached for two glasses of champagne from a passing tray, and gave Poppy one._

"_I love prohibition, everything is so much more fun," she smirked the blonde, who nodded in agreement._

"_What shall we do tonight, Lizzie?" Poppy asked._

"_Hmm, well I call dibs on the pianist," Elizabeth smirked. She didn't want to ruin yet another dress, so she'd be careful not to make a mess._

"_No fair! You got the bartender last night," Poppy argued. But Elizabeth was already walking towards the pianist, who was sitting at his piano._

_She stopped suddenly, when she noticed a blonde girl already chatting him up. Elizabeth frowned, but decided not to let his little girlfriend ruin her fun. Maybe she could join them- even more fun._

"_Hello Jeffery," Elizabeth said in a slightly patronizing voice, sitting down on the other side of him. the blonde glared at her, and Elizabeth smirked in response._

"_Oh, hi Elizabeth. This is Rebekah," he introduced the blonde._

"_I know who she is," Rebekah said shortly, in an English accent._

_Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at her, before turning to Jeffery. "Let's go to your place," she compelled him._

_Jeffery nodded in understanding. Completely ignoring the blonde, he and Elizabeth left the club. Rebekah glared at Elizabeth's retreating figure. His brother's obsession had just stolen her meal._

"_Let's go Nik," Rebekah whined to her brother, who was sitting at the bar._

"_I thought that you were going to go play with the piano player," Klaus groaned, irritated by his sister._

"_Your singer stole him from me," Rebekah said stiffly._

_Klaus laughed. "Well, I suppose you're going to have to find another victim then, sister," he told her, before walking away._

_Rebekah glared after him. she so wanted to rip Elizabeth's heart from her chest._

"Rebekah hated me because I stole her food? That's mature," I said.

"My sister isn't the deepest person to exist," Klaus admitted.

"What even happened to her? I'm surprised that my head is still attached to my body."

"You don't have to worry about Rebekah. She is in no condition to harm you," Klaus said vaguely.

It occurred to me that Klaus had killed Rebekah, just like his other siblings. "So why are you telling me about New York?" I asked.

"I'm telling you about New York, to prove that you forgave me once. You're perfectly capable of doing it again, Elizabeth," he said.

_New York City, New York_

_1921_

_Ever since the night Elizabeth stole Jeffery from Rebekah, she had been getting death glares from the blonde. Elizabeth wasn't afraid, though. But that was because she didn't know that Rebekah was an original._

"_Why is Rebekah always glaring at you?" Poppy asked one night._

_Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at her. "You know Rebekah?"_

_Poppy smirked. "We go back," she said vaguely._

"_She's mad at me, because I stole Jeffery from her. I don't know why, though. He didn't even taste that good," Elizabeth said, her eyes scanning the club._

_Her breath caught in her throat, when she saw somebody she never expected to see again. She blinked, but he was still there. "Elizabeth, what's wrong?" Poppy asked._

_Elizabeth's blue eyes were glued to Klaus, who stared back at her. he smirked slightly, and gestured for her to follow him, before he walked out of the club. "Lizzie?" Poppy repeated._

"_I-I'll be right back," Elizabeth said, before following Klaus out of the club, almost trance-like._

_The cool air whipped against Elizabeth, but since she was a vampire, she didn't get cold. She looked around for him, but she was alone outside._

"_I've missed you, Lizzie."_

_Elizabeth spun around to see Klaus standing behind her. "You have some nerve," she snapped, glaring at him._

_Klaus sighed. "Elizabeth-" he said, but was cut off when she slapped him across the face._

"_Stay away from me," she hissed, before walking back towards the club._

_She suddenly yelped in pain, when Klaus slammed her against the brick wall. One arm wrapped around her waist, while the other caressed her neck. "Now, now Elizabeth. Don't do something that'll make me hurt you," he purred in her ear._

_Elizabeth managed to get away from the original. Seeing him made her remember being human. And remembering her human years made her humanity twitch within her. she closed her eyes, and pushed away the waves of pain that washed over her. no, her humanity was off for a reason. She didn't have to feel pain._

_She opened her eyes again, and glared at Klaus. "Leave. Me. Alone," she hissed, before walking around him and back into the club._

_Klaus sighed and let her go. That didn't go nearly as well as he had hoped._

I didn't remember much of New York, but I always figured that it was because of all the killing and blood. I didn't remember Klaus and Rebekah at all, though. I only knew about Rebekah, because of the little things that Klaus had told me about his family, back in 1864.

"It doesn't sound like I forgave you," I said stiffly. The chains were starting to become uncomfortable.

"The story is not over yet, Elizabeth," Klaus said softly.

_New York City, New York_

_1921_

_Elizabeth hadn't told Poppy about Klaus. In reality, she hadn't thought much about Klaus. When she thought about him, it brought out her humanity. To counter that, Elizabeth had went on the worst killing spree to date, besides Humanity, Georgia. Nothing would ever top Humanity._

_Elizabeth had been avoiding Klaus as best as she could. She had started going to a different club, on the other side of the city. Poppy was noticing her strange behavior, but said nothing about it._

_On the third night at the new club, Elizabeth was feeding on a waiter in a dark corner at the night club. She pulled away before he died, and then left him half-alive in the corner booth. The band was playing a slow song, and couples were dancing._

"_May I have this dance?"_

_Elizabeth stiffened at his voice. "How did you find me?" she asked Klaus, turning around._

"_Well, the trail of bodies that you're leaving behind certainly didn't help," he said, before offering his hand._

"_Come on Elizabeth, we met while dancing," he insisted._

"_Actually, we met when I ran into you," she corrected him, and Klaus smirked._

"_So you remember how we met?" he asked smugly, and Elizabeth glared._

"_I'll dance with you, if you leave me alone," she told him, crossing her arms over her chest._

"_I wouldn't hold my breath, love," he told her, but Elizabeth danced with him anyway._

_Klaus wrapped an arm around her waist, and the other held her hand. Being in his arms again felt strangely right again, and it was at that moment that Elizabeth realized how much she had missed him._

"_You cheated on me," she said quietly, as they swayed slowly to the music._

"_I know," Klaus answered._

"_You broke my heart more times than I ever should have let you," she continued._

"_I know."_

"_Then why should I give you yet another chance, Klaus?" Elizabeth asked him._

"_Because I care about you, Elizabeth. More than I'd ever admit," he said, as he spun her around. "And you still love me."_

_Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't love anymore, Klaus. I don't feel," she corrected him._

"_I thought that about myself too. And then I met you," he said._

_Elizabeth frowned. "I can't-" she started to say, but then he cut her off with a kiss._

_Despite shoving her humanity deep down, that kiss brought back old feelings. Elizabeth didn't even think to pull away from him. she kissed him back in the middle of the dance floor, and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck._

_Klaus was right, of course. She missed him, she loved him, and though she would never, ever admit it, she still felt when it came to him._

I stared blankly at him. I forgave Klaus, back in 1921.

"You see, Elizabeth? You did forgive me," he said in a smug voice.

"If I forgave you, then why is any of this even happening right now?" I asked, not completely believing it.

"Because my sister ruined it," Klaus said bitterly.

_New York City, New York_

_1921_

_Slowly, Elizabeth was starting to forgive Klaus. She spent her nights with him, curled up in his lap in a booth at a club. Poppy was always wondering where she was running off too, for Elizabeth had yet to tell her about Klaus._

_The truth was, Elizabeth was thinking about leaving Poppy. She wanted to be with Klaus; despite the fact the Rebekah despised her. Despite the fact that she was feeling again. Despite everything, she wanted to be with him again._

"_I'll be right back, love," Klaus told her, pushing her off of his lap. Elizabeth watched him leave, and her eyes wandered to the dancer he talked to for a few seconds. Then Klaus pulled the dancer away from the rest of the club. Elizabeth smirked slightly. Maybe she would join him for a bite- the dancer looked delicious._

"_Elizabeth," a voice called, as she started to slip out of the booth._

_Elizabeth's nose wrinkled, as Rebekah approached her. She looked… frightened. "Come here," she ordered, and gripped the vampire by the shoulders._

"_You will forget about Nik and I. you will forget that you ever met us here," she compelled._

_Elizabeth blinked, and the blonde was gone. Funny, she had no memory of what she was about to do. She had no memory of the past week at all. _

_Klaus wiped his mouth, and let the dancer's dead body drop to the ground. He was about to go back to Elizabeth, when Rebekah suddenly blocked his way. "We need to go, Nik," she said, grabbing his arm._

"_What are you talking about?" he said, raising an eyebrow._

"_Mikael is coming," she told him, frantically pulling on his arm._

_Klaus instantly stiffened. "Just let me get Elizabeth, and we can go," he said, moving back to the club._

"_She doesn't remember, Nik," Rebekah told him bluntly, and Klaus paused._

"_What did you do, Rebekah?" he demanded, his voice cold._

"_I compelled her to forget about meeting us here. She was a liability," Rebekah said dismissively, before pulling him harder. "We need to go!"_

_Klaus never forgave his sister for what she did._

I was silent after Klaus finally finished his story. "Can I go now?" I asked quietly.

Klaus looked shocked. "It doesn't change anything for you, Elizabeth? You forgave me!"

"I-I was different then, Klaus," I told him. "Besides… I love Jeremy."

The second I blurted out the words, I realized that they were true. It might've been too soon, but it was true. Klaus looked like I had staked him. "What?" he asked, breathless.

"I'm in love with someone else," I told him more firmly, and then pulled myself free from the chains. "I'm leaving now."

Klaus was a statue, as I walked around him. I didn't say anything to him as I walked out of his house and into the night. His whole plan had failed. I realized, as I ran home, that there was a difference between 1921 and today, besides the fact that I'm no longer a ripper. The difference was Jeremy.

I loved Jeremy, and that itself stopped me from running back to Klaus. I didn't think about it as I walked home- I was too caught up in the night's revelations- but my love for him was just another reason for Klaus to kill Jeremy.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: vdemily, Paris101, and hidansgirl1234 for reviewing!

Reviews are inspiring!

~Abby :D


	31. selfish

**Chapter thirty**

Selfish

_Elizabeth_

When I got home, I found Stefan, Damon, Katherine, and Lily in the living room. I glared at Katherine, whose eyes widened when she saw me. Damon raised an eyebrow as I walked to the fridge for blood.

"I didn't know that you left," he said.

I gaped at him. "I've been gone for hours, Damon. I'm' surprised that you guys weren't out having a search party for me," I said, only having joking.

His eyebrows shot up. "What are you talking about? You've been up in your room," he said.

I frowned, as I held a bag of blood in my hand. My family had no idea that Klaus had kidnapped me, because Katherine had been distracting them. My eyes widened, as it all clicked together in my mind. Klaus had told me that my brothers were distracted. What a coincidence, that the day Katherine rolls back into town, I'm kidnapped by Klaus.

That little bitch was distracting my family for Klaus.

I squeezed the bag of blood in my hand so tight, it exploded all over me. I glared daggers at Katherine, who seemed to realize that I had figured everything out. Within an instant, she was gone.

"That's right, run away, you little slut!" I shouted after her. she just couldn't stop messing with my brothers, couldn't she?

"Elizabeth, what the hell?" Damon said, obviously very confused. Stefan and Lily wore the same expression that he did.

I sighed, struggling to control my anger. The blood was still splattered all over me, but I paid it no mind. "Klaus called Katherine back into town, so that she could distract you guys, while he kidnapped me. I've been with him for hours," I explained.

"That little bitch did it again!" Damon instantly exploded.

"What did Klaus want with you, Elizabeth?" Stefan asked anxiously.

I sighed. I didn't feel like getting into 1921 with them, especially since it was during my ripper days. "Just trying to win me back, nothing new," I mumbled, throwing the blood bag away.

I thought about mentioning Klaus's threat to Jeremy right then, but I couldn't bring myself to say the words. I still had the note in my pocket, and it burned against my skin. Thinking of Jeremy made me think of my revelation- I loved him, and it just made everything much more complicated.

"I-I think I'm gonna go see Jeremy," I told my family, walking up the stairs to go change clothes. I was completely ignoring Klaus's threat, which wasn't smart.

"Don't get kidnapped again," Lily called to me, as I walked into my bedroom. I could still hear her clearly, though.

I changed quickly, and then drove to Jeremy's. it was eight o'clock at night, as I knocked on the front door. My eyes scanned their yard, looking for Klaus or one of his hybrids. But I was alone. I felt as if I was doing something illegal- which in a way, I was. if Klaus caught me, he'd kill Jeremy. That would be my punishment.

"Hey, Ellie," Elena greeted me. I smiled back, and it occurred to me that I hadn't talked to her since Klaus came back.

"Is Jeremy here?" I asked her. I wondered if she knew that Klaus was back, and that we had romantic history. I doubted that she knew that Katherine was running around again.

"No, he's over at a friend's house. He should be back soon, though. Want to come in and wait for him?" she asked.

I nodded in agreement, and Elena let me into her house. I followed her to the couch, and sat down next to her. "So, you and Klaus, huh?" she asked, trying to make a joke out of it, but it was clear that she was uncomfortable.

I sighed. "Stefan told you?" I guessed, and she nodded.

"I just… I don't see how you fell for him, Elizabeth," Elena admitted.

"It's not like he's ugly, Elena. Klaus is charming when he wants to be, and he swept me off of my feet," I sighed.

"But he's a monster, Elizabeth," Elena argued.

"I know that. I was just a toy to him, Elena. I fell in love with him, though. He jumped roped with my emotions, with my heart. Sometimes he was cold and made it clear to me that I was just a blood bag and a good time to him. then other times, he was sweet and kind, and would go on and on about how we would be together forever. I fell in love with that Klaus, but he doesn't exist," I blurted out even more painful facts about my and Klaus's relationship.

"I'm worried about Jeremy," Elena blurted out. "If Klaus wants you back, what's to stop him from killing your boyfriend?"

I bit my lip, the note in my pocket burning with more intensity. "I… don't think that he will. Klaus is walking eggshells around me, trying to win me back. he won't kill Jeremy, because he knows that'll piss me even more off," I lied.

Elena nodded, but didn't look convinced. "I-I love Jeremy," I admitted to her suddenly, words blurting out of my mouth by themselves.

Elena's eyebrows shot up. "You do?" she asked, surprised. I nodded, biting my lip.

"Did you tell him this yet?" she asked.

I shook my head. "That's why I'm here," I said, suddenly nervous.

I almost expected Elena to argue, to tell me that it wasn't safe for Jeremy, for me to be in love with him. but she just nodded and smiled softly. "I'm happy for you two, I know that Jeremy's crazy for you."

I smiled at her, the note in my pocket burning with such heat, that I'm surprised that it hadn't gone up in flames yet. I finally had enough of the burning, and ripped it out of my pocket. I dropped it on the table, and Elena raised an eyebrow at my strange actions.

"What's that?" she asked, reaching for the note.

Despite my speed, Elena grabbed the note before I could stop her. "Elena, wait-" I said, as she opened it up and read it.

I bit my lip as she read. Her brown eyes widened as she read the part where Klaus threatened Jeremy's life. She dropped the note on the table when she was done reading, and we sat in silence. She stared at the note, and I watched her.

"Klaus did threaten Jeremy," Elena said finally.

"Yes," I whispered, caught in my own lie.

"He threatened Jeremy, Elizabeth!" Elena suddenly whirled on me, glaring at me. "He threatened that if he ever saw you two together, he'd kill him. yet, you're here to tell him that you love him? I'm sorry Elizabeth, but that's really selfish of you."

I felt like Elena had slapped me, just as Jeremy walked into the house. He smiled when he saw me. "Hey Elizabeth," he said.

I smiled back, but it was forced. "Hi, can we talk?" I asked.

Jeremy nodded, and Elena looked at me like she couldn't believe me. "Yeah sure, let's go up to my room," Jeremy told me.

I followed him, feeling hollow. Elena was right, I was selfish. The fact that I was willing to risk Jeremy's life just because I couldn't let him go was terrible. I was no better than Katherine.

"What do want to talk about, Ellie?" Jeremy asked me, as we sat down on his bed.

I took a deep breath, already resolved in what I had to do. I couldn't be selfish with Jeremy anymore. If I really, truly loved him, I couldn't.

"I love you, Jeremy," I blurted out, shutting my eyes.

He was silent. "I-" he started to say, but I cut him off.

"no," I said, my eyes snapping open. "Don't say it. I don't want to know, because it won't help either way."

Jeremy's eyebrows furrowed. "What-" he started to say, but I cut him off my ripping his vervain bracelet off.

"Jeremy," I started, looking deep into his eyes. "We tried dating, but it didn't work out. There just wasn't anything there. We were better off friends, and the break up was mutual. You don't feel anything romantic for me, we're just friends. Our breakup won't affect you in any way, you'll move on," I compelled him.

"I'll move on," he repeated in a zombie-like tone.

I felt tears burn in my eyes, as I kissed his cheek. When I pulled away, I saw the compulsion start to work on him.

"Us breaking up is for the best, Jeremy," I said, trying to keep any tears out of my voice.

Jeremy nodded. "We're better off friends," he agreed.

I nodded, and stood up. "Bye, Jer," I said, before giving him a quick hug.

I inhaled his scent, and willed myself not to cry. "Bye, Ellie," he answered, not touched by our breakup at all.

I pulled away, and walked out of his room. I didn't look back, because I would cry if I did. I managed to hold back the tears of letting Jeremy go, as I bounded down the stairs. Elena was still sitting on the couch, and she frowned when she saw me.

"Elizabeth-" she started to say, but I cut her off.

"Don't ever call me selfish again," I told her shortly, a tear escaping. "Because I just broke my own heart."

And with a cryptic stare, I walked out of the Gilbert house, and out of Jeremy Gilbert's life.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Pickle Paige, Paris101, and vei for reviewing!

Reviews are encouraging!

~Abby :)


	32. snapped

**Chapter thirty one**

Snapped

_Lily_

Lily was worried about Elizabeth. It was obvious, by the way she kept pacing the living room floor. She couldn't help it- Klaus had managed to distract them, and take her. what if he hadn't been so willing to let her go? Lily felt guilty, for not being attentive enough to notice her best friend's disappearance, and promised herself that it wouldn't happen again.

"Will you relax, Lil? She'll be home soon."

The sound of Damon's voice just made her feel more guilty, and she gnawed on her lip. She and Damon were together- in a physical way, at least- and Elizabeth had no idea. She hated keeping things from her best friend, especially since Damon was her big brother.

"I can't relax! What if Klaus gets her again?" Lily blurted out, never stopping her pacing.

"If he gets her again, we'll get her back. simple as that," Damon said confidently.

"It's not simple, Damon. he's older than even me, not to mention an invincible hybrid. We can't rely on the fact that he wants to get back on Elizabeth's good side forever." Lily sighed, when suddenly Damon grabbed her, to stop her from pacing.

"You're going to put a hole in the floor, Lily," he said evenly. Lily sighed, and stopped pacing, but Damon's grip on her arms didn't relax.

Instead, he pulled her to him, his hot mouth finding hers. Lily closed her eyes, and pushed the guilt away, before kissing him back. she had to admit, that the fact that being with Damon was somewhat forbidden and wrong made it hotter.

His fingers slipped up her shirt, and Lily wrapped an arm around his neck. Damon unhooked her lacy bra, before picking her up so that he wouldn't have to bend down. Lily wrapped her legs around his waist, before they fell down onto the couch.

"What did Poppy mean, yesterday?" Damon asked abruptly, an hour later. Lily's hair was tickling his face, as she rested her head on his bare chest. she was in just his shirt, and he was in just his boxers. Both were stretched out on the couch. It wasn't smart for them to be like this in the living room, in case Stefan or Elizabeth walked in. but neither made a move to leave the couch.

As Lily listened to the beating of Damon's heart, she briefly wondered what they were. As a 943 year old vampire, calling him her boyfriend seemed too mundane. They may just be having fun, fooling around, yet they still had the sweet, romantic moments after sex that lovers had. Anybody could have sex, what was after was just for lovers.

"Hmm?" Lily looked up, her silvery gray eyes meeting his icy blue ones.

"When Poppy caught us yesterday morning, she said something about another one of your boy toys. She said it like it didn't end so well for the last one," Damon said curiously, playing with a dark lock of Lily's hair.

Lily sighed, and rested her head on his chest again. "That is… a very long story," she said finally.

"Lucky for us, we're both immortal," Damon said dryly.

Lily sighed again. "I've told you before that your situation with Stefan isn't too different from mine with Poppy. You two were close as human, but driven apart because of love and lifestyle. Same with Poppy and I. our history is very long, but the final nail in the coffin for us, was in 1412. It was a very eventful year- the year Poppy became a hopeless case. Long story short, Poppy and I fell for the same human, Garret Jansen. But he chose me over Poppy, so she killed him."

Damon was silent, as Lily thought about Garret. She felt an empty pang in her chest. she wasn't upset over his death like she used to be. She had Damon now. "So what does that have to do with me?" Damon finally asked.

"I imagine that she was making a threat against your life- you know, if you're with me, you'll die," Lily deadpanned

"Well, I think that'll it take more than a threat from a crazy bitch to scare me off," Damon said, and Lily smiled slightly.

"Besides, you're just too much fun," Damon smirked, before flipping them over.

Lily giggled, and wrapped her arms around his neck. she allowed him to take control, as he tugged at the shirt hiding her body from him.

"Have you guys seen Eliza- oh God."

Both of them snapped up, and stared at Stefan, whose eyes were wide.

An awkward silence filled the air. They really needed to get better at not having people walk in on them.

"Hey Stef," Damon said finally, as Lily pulled his shirt tighter around her small frame. "Didn't see you there."

_Elizabeth_

I signaled for a drink, as I sat down at a small bar miles outside of Mystic Falls. My heart was still aching from letting Jeremy go, but I figured that I could drown it out with alcohol. I figured that I could use alcohol to push away everything that had been building up inside of me, just waiting for me to snap.

"How old are you?" the bartender asked me suspiciously, walking over to me.

"161, now get me my drink," I snapped, compelling him. he hurried to get me my glass of rum, and I nursed it while resting my head on the wooden bar.

"You don't look too good."

I raised my head to see a guy in his early twenties sit down next to me. he was cute, with curling blonde hair, but he looked overly confident. "Thank you," I said sarcastically.

"Not that way," he said quickly. "Trust me, you're hot. I just meant that you look sad."

"Yeah well, I just broke up with my boyfriend," I said shortly, not having the patience to deal with a guy like him.

"Oh, sorry," he said, but he didn't look it all. "I'm Sam."

"Elizabeth," I sighed, before throwing back my drink.

"I gotta say, that guy was stupid for letting a girl like you go," Sam gave me a charming smirk. I knew what he was trying to do- he saw a girl who might be on the rebound, and decided to try to seduce her with pretty words and a cute smile. Normally, I would've compelled him to leave me alone, but that ache in my chest just kept getting worse. I wanted it to go away. I wanted a distraction from the pain.

"Your place or mine?" I asked briskly, and Sam smirked at me.

Twenty minutes later, I found myself pressed up against his front door, his hot mouth against mine. "You have to invite me in," I mumbled against his lips.

Sam was too busy trying to undo my bra to think that this was strange request. "You can come into my house, Elizabeth," he told me, before I dragged him into his empty house.

We fell onto the wood floor, and I kicked the front door closed, before climbing on top of him. "You're so hot," Sam mumbled, finally getting my bra off.

I smirked against his mouth, as I literally ripped his shirt off of him. running my hands over his defined chest, I felt something inside me snap. Everything that had been weighing down on me, and finally caused me to snap, to give into my old nature.

Sam didn't even have time to raise his eyebrows, before my face contorted, and I sank my fangs into his neck.

_Klaus_

Klaus sighed, feeling pitifully weak, as he threw back another shot of whiskey at the empty Mystic Grill. the only two people in it were him and the young, pretty bartender wiping glasses. She had curly blonde hair, and was very pretty, but she was Elizabeth.

"Another shot, sweetheart," Klaus called to her. the pretty blonde turned to face him, baring a nametag that read Maggie.

"I called 'last call' half an hour ago." Maggie crossed her arms over her chest.

"Humor me," Klaus compelled her.

Maggie grabbed a bottle of whiskey, and poured him another shot. She made to leave, but Klaus grabbed her wrist. "No, stay," he compelled her again.

Klaus took a sip of whiskey, as Maggie was forced to stand in front of him. "Have you ever been in love, Maggie?" he asked her.

Maggie raised a blonde eyebrow. "I don't see-" she started to say, but he cut her off.

"You will answer all of my questions, and we will have a decent conversation," he compelled her.

"No, I haven't," Maggie was forced to blurt out.

"Luck you." Klaus groaned. "The woman that has been the object of my desires for centuries told me hours ago that she was in love with another man. Boy, really."

"Harsh," Maggie winced, before frowning thoughtfully. "Do you love her?"

Klaus sighed. "That is a complicated question, Maggie."

"No, it's not," Maggie argued. "Either you know it or not."

Klaus smiled slightly. She reminded him a tiny bit of Elizabeth. "It's complicated, when you have spent your entire existence convinced that love was a weakness, that you're not capable of it. I know that I do care for her, and I can't say that for anyone else."

"Love isn't a weakness. It's amazing," Maggie said wistfully.

Klaus frowned. This little girl had no idea what love was. "You have the fairy tale version of love confused with the real thing, Maggie. Love _is_ a weakness. It's cruel and harsh and cold. How would you know anyway? You've never felt it," he pointed out.

Maggie blushed. "Still, it's not all bad, I know that for sure. And if you don't know that, maybe you don't love her. in fact, if you'd rather her be unhappy with you instead of being happy with that other guy, then maybe you don't care about her after all," she argued fiercely.

Klaus narrowed his eyes at her. she really did have no idea who she was talking to. "Love is selfless, and you are clearly a selfish person," Maggie continued, glaring at him.

She reminded Klaus of Elizabeth, with her mouth. The difference between Maggie and Elizabeth was that on Elizabeth, her mouth was cute. On Maggie, it was irritating. "You do not know a thing about me, little girl," Klaus growled.

Klaus felt all the stress that Elizabeth caused him, weigh down on him. his fangs started to lengthen in his mouth, and Maggie's big blue eyes widened at the sight of his face.

"Oh my god," she whispered, trying to move but she couldn't.

Klaus could hear Maggie's heart pump her sweet blood throughout her body. The sound made him finally snap. He let out a feral growl, before he lunged for Maggie's throat.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **finally, what you've all been begging for. Ripper Elizabeth.

Thank you to: vdemily and Pickle Paige for reviewing!

Please review!

~Abby :)


	33. the succubus

**Chapter thirty two**

The succubus

_Elizabeth_

I groaned a little, as I woke up to the sun in my eyes. I was in an unfamiliar bed completely naked. I groaned again, and pushed my messy hair out of my eyes. I sat up and stretched, before taking in the room I was in. my eyes widened, and my breath caught in my throat.

Blood was everywhere.

Last night came rushing back to me. at first, I felt terribly guilty. I had killed. For the first time since Lily, I had killed a human to feed on them. But then, I didn't feel. I didn't feel anything, and I liked it that way. My humanity was off.

I got out of the bloody bed, dragging a sheet with me. blood was spattered across it, blood that made me thirsty again. As I walked down the silent hallway, I saw more evidence of my last night shenanigans. Blood was everywhere, the small house was coated in it.

I came to a stop in the small living room, only to see a human arm. I wrinkled my nose in disgust- it seemed like I got a bit carried away last night. Sam lay on the living room floor. He was missing an arm and half a leg. He was very, very white- I had drained every last drop of blood was his body, and painted his house with it. Sam's eyes stared up at the ceiling, blank and empty.

I should've cared. I should've cared that a human- a person- had died this way. And I should've cared more that I had caused it. But I didn't feel anymore. Despite what I had believed before, I liked not feeling anything. It was refreshing, to not deal with guilt or pain or silly little human emotions.

"That's what you get for bringing the succubus home, sweetie," I told Sam's body, as I looked around for my clothes. The succubus. I hadn't thought about that nickname in decades, mostly because the old Elizabeth who felt hated that part of our ripper history. That was period in my life- shortly before I met Lily- where things got really messy. Poppy had given me the nickname, since I seduced horny men into taking me home, and then I drank every ounce of their blood.

_New York City, New York_

_1926_

_Things were getting boring for me. I was tired with just feeding, just killing. Even with my mind games that I liked to play on humans, there still wasn't enough excitement in the hunt for me anymore._

_I stirred my drink, as I sat at a bar in a club, waiting for Poppy. Suddenly, a young man sat down next to me. he didn't pay me any mind, just ordered his drink. I frowned slightly- the man was nothing special physically. He wasn't ugly, but he wasn't drop dead gorgeous either. The thing that bothered me was that he didn't give me any attention. He looked once, and then looked away._

"_Hello there," I purred to him, focused on winning over his attention._

"_Hello," he said gruffly to me, before turning his back to me._

_My frown deepened. What was wrong with him? or more likely, what was wrong with me? I glared at the man. no one gave Elizabeth Salvatore the cold shoulder and lived to tell the tale. I was very prideful._

"_Oops, it seems that I've spilled my drink," I sighed, as I dumped my drink all over my chest. I would seduce this man the old fashioned way- compelling him would be like cheating._

_The man's eyes widened slightly, as the rum made my breasts visible to him through my dress. it wasn't appropriate, but neither was I._

"_Oh, let me help you with that," he said quickly, grabbing a napkin for me, his eyes never leaving my chest. I dabbed at my chest slowly, as he watched me lustfully._

"_Oh, pardon me. where are my manners? I am Elizabeth," I introduced myself._

_The man tore his eyes away from my breasts long enough to shake my hand. "Brian."_

_half an hour of seducing later, I had Brian pinned against his bedroom wall. I pulled my lips away from his to sink my fangs into his neck, tearing the flesh forcefully. When I woke up in his blood soaked sheets the next morning, his lifeless body next to me, I felt a thrill from seducing him that I hadn't felt before. Thus, the succubus was born._

What would Stefan and Damon do when they found out that their innocent little Elizabeth was a man eater? I smirked to myself, as I changed into my, thankfully undamaged, clothes. I felt a hollow pain in my chest at the thought of them, but pushed it away. I didn't feel anymore, I didn't care.

After I got changed, I found gasoline and a lighter in the garage next door to the small house. Thankfully, it was in a slightly remote area- the next neighbor was about half a mile away. I drenched the house in gasoline, making sure to get Sam extra good. I didn't want a medical examiner to be able to identify that his cause of death wasn't due to being burned alive. Then I lit the lighter, and engulfed the house in flames.

_The Salvatore boarding house_

Lily paced her room nervously. Elizabeth hadn't come home last night, and Stefan knew about her and Damon. to make matters worse, she had gotten a call from one of her assistants for her vampire rehab. A ripper had been brought in, a very strong one that was too strong for the other vampires. She had to go to her rehab center and help them. But could she really leave Mystic Falls right now, with everything going on?

Damon listened to Lily pace in her room. He didn't burst in, push her up against her wall, and kiss her roughly, though. She hadn't met his eyes since Stefan walked in on them. To top it all off, Elizabeth wasn't home yet, and Damon was really worried.

"Damon."

Damon sighed, and turned around to face his brother. "Brother," he greeted, walking away from Lily's bedroom door.

"Lily? Really?" Stefan said bluntly, causing Damon to turn around.

"What? You have to admit, she's hot," Damon smirked, trying to play his feelings for Lily off.

"She is Elizabeth's best friend, Damon. I thought that you'd be able to leave her alone for our sister's sake, but apparently not," Stefan snapped.

He narrowed his blue eyes at his brother. "I didn't rape Lily, brother. If you're in a lecturing mood, go talk to Lily. She's just as much at fault as I am."

"Just leave Lily alone, okay? I know how it's going to play out- you're going to break her heart. Don't take her away from Elizabeth," Stefan told him.

Damon took in his words, and thought about Elizabeth's words to him weeks ago. She didn't want them to get together, that they were going to break each other's hearts. Maybe he should stay away from Lily.

"I have to leave," Lily said suddenly, appearing next to Damon.

"What?" both brothers asked at the same time, both wondering if she had heard their conversation.

"It'll only be for a week, two weeks tops. I'll be back, I promise. But I need to leave now, it's an emergency," she explained.

Damon and Lily didn't meet eyes, and he didn't tell her goodbye. Damon just walked away to his bedroom, slightly glad that she was leaving.

Lily sighed, before turning to Stefan. She had heard a part of the Salvatore brothers' conversation, but she didn't mention it. "Goodbye Stefan," she told him.

"Bye, Lily." He watched her grab her bags from her room, before running out of the house. Stefan sighed. He kind of regretted telling Damon to stay away from Lily. It wasn't his place, and she was good influence on him.

Stefan's thoughts about Lily and Damon were cut off at that moment. A loud door slam indicated that someone was in the house, and he could tell who it was by the scent.

Elizabeth was home.

_Elizabeth_

I walked into the boarding house, waiting for my brothers and Lily to yell at me for not coming home last night. I wasn't looking forward to seeing them. They knew the old Elizabeth, and she was long gone.

"_Where the hell were you?"_

I rolled my eyes, and turned to face Damon. he looked pissed, but I found his anger amusing. "Don't get your panties in a knot, brother," I smirked, walking towards the fridge.

Damon's eyebrows rose at my attitude, as I heated up a glass of blood. I took a sip of the blood, and made a face. Fresh blood was so much better. "Where were you, Lizzie?" Damon repeated, trying to hold back his anger.

"None of your business, brother," I said coolly, emptying the blood in the sink.

Suddenly, Damon had me pinned against the wall. "Drop the attitude, _sister," _he growled.

I smirked up at him, and easily kicked him away. "You're one to talk, Damon. you have a really bad attitude- I'm just taking after my big brother."

Damon narrowed his eyes at me, obviously sensing that something was off with me. I didn't want him to know that my humanity was off, though. He and the rest of my so called family would ruin all of my fun.

"I'm going out, I'll see you later," I said in my same cold tone as before. In reality, I was going to go find another man to seduce and sink my teeth into.

I ran from the house before Damon could even think to stop me.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Pickle Paige, DivineOrder, and Paris101 for reviewing!

Reviews make me smile :)

~Abby!


	34. the innocent little sister

**Chapter thirty three**

The innocent little sister

_Elizabeth_

I wasn't being nearly as inconspicuous as I had hoped. The first week following my humanity being turned off I was dropping bodies left and right. I was cleaning up after myself, but humans were starting to notice the string of deaths and disappearances surrounding young men. My brothers were starting to notice.

"_We have yet another name to add to the growing list of deaths in and around Mystic Falls. So far this week, Andre Marsh, Peter Lock, Sam Reynolds, and Brad Johnson have mysteriously died this week. Another body has been found- Christian Daniels was discovered this morning in the woods by joggers. The string of deaths don't seem to be connected, since the men didn't all die in the same or a similar way. More people have gone missing since last night's report. Adding to the list of Tom Casper, Rob Peterson, and Maggie Stewart, Max Lopez was reported missing by his wife this morning-" _the news reporter announced, as I walked past the TV to the kitchen.

I wasn't responsible for all of the deaths and disappearances announced- I didn't kill this Maggie. I preferred men, but every now and then an annoying girlfriend or wife will try to screw up my fun, and I have to deal with them.

The humans hadn't even discovered all of my victims yet. Only the obvious deaths- like house fires- had caught their attention. Those, and the bodies that I was too drunk to hide properly. If they went down to the falls, they would discover a dozen more bodies from around Virginia. The best part was that I was just getting started.

"Elizabeth," Damon greeted me coldly, walking into the kitchen. Things between me and my brothers hadn't been so good since the day I came home after turning my humanity off again. I wanted it like that, though. I was also glad that Lily was gone. They were all bond to try to get me to turn my humanity back on, and I didn't want it back on. I never wanted to feel again.

"Damon," I acknowledged with a slight smirk, pouring myself coffee. I was thinking about taking a drive out of state and stay there for a few days. I didn't want to draw too much attention to myself.

"Oh, looks like there was another death and another missing human," Damon said with fake surprise, pouring himself a glass of blood.

"What a shame," I deadpanned, my nose wrinkling at the smell of the old blood. "You know brother, fresh blood is so much better." I smirked at Damon, before walking out of the kitchen.

I passed Stefan on my way to my room, and smirked up at him. "Brother," I greeted him, before walking up the stairs to my room to pack for my trip.

_Damon_

"What's wrong with her?" Stefan asked his brother, looking at his little sister's retreating figure.

"Her time of the month, maybe?" Damon joked, but he knew that there was something wrong with Elizabeth. She wasn't the same, and he didn't know what had happened to her. A week ago, Elizabeth was his cheerful, stubborn, and bubbly little sister. Now she was a bitch. What happened to her?

"Elena told me a few days ago that Elizabeth broke up with Jeremy," Stefan told Damon. Damon couldn't help the smirk that formed on his lips. It was about time. He hated Gilbert, and the image of his tongue down Elizabeth's throat was permanently seared into his mind.

"Oh no," Damon said with insincerity. Stefan frowned at Damon's grin and obvious happiness. Stefan hadn't been exactly sad to hear the news at first either, but he felt worse when Elena had explained the entire situation to him.

"She loves him, Damon. Elizabeth broke up with Jeremy to protect him from Klaus. And Elena thinks that she compelled him not to be upset over it at all," Stefan explained.

Damon instantly sobered. It killed him to think that Elizabeth was in love, that his baby sister was growing up, but it hurt him even more that she was putting herself through pain, just to keep Jeremy safe.

Suddenly, a thought hit Damon. "You don't think that Lizzie would've turned off her humanity, do you?" Damon asked Stefan, frowning slightly.

Stefan voiced his brother's own thoughts. "No, of course not. Elizabeth still hates herself for her past, she wouldn't go kill more people, just because of a breakup," Stefan argued.

But Damon insisted to play the devil's advocate. "All I'm saying is that we have a different, bitchy Elizabeth who has the exact personality a vampire would have if they can't feel anymore, and we have a pile of dead bodies. I'm just putting the pieces together." Damon shrugged, but he didn't want to believe it. The Lizzie he knew was too sweet and innocent to kill. It wasn't his baby sister, to be a murdering monster.

"I just- I can't believe it, Damon." Stefan sighed. Damon understood what Stefan was feeling.

"You think that I want to believe that Elizabeth's off the rails? Of course not. Honestly, I'm willing to accept that it's just a chick thing until I catch her committing the crime, but I still think that it's worth calling Lily and tell her about our suspicions," Damon insisted.

Stefan sighed and nodded. "We should keep an eye on her too."

Damon nodded, and went to call Lily. Both brothers were completely unaware that at that moment, Elizabeth was climbing out of her window, about to take a road trip to North Carolina, plans on how to wreak havoc on the state running through her mind.

_Elizabeth_

I decided to make a quick stop at the Grill for alcohol and blood. I wasn't going to kill, just a quick bite and compel. As I sat at the bar, I eyed a young, hot guy. He would do.

Just as I was about to compel myself a quick snack, I was joined by an unwelcomed vampire. "Well, well, well, what have you been getting into, Lizzie?" Poppy drawled, looking very amused.

I glared at her. She was killing my buzz. "I have no idea what you mean, Poppy. I'm sweet, innocent little Lizzie, remember?" I raised an eyebrow, playing dumb.

Poppy snorted. "Please, I knew the second that those bodies were found that you were back on the dark side, Elizabeth. I know your type and it just so happens all of the missing and dead men fit into your type. Dare I say that the succubus is back?" she asked hopefully.

I frowned slightly. Poppy had always pushed me to "join the dark side again." She wouldn't rat me out to my brothers. But then again, Poppy was a lying bitch. "I'm afraid that you must have me confused with somebody else, Poppy. I don't kill," I lied, turning my back to her.

Suddenly, Poppy gripped my shoulders painfully tight. I pushed her away, knocking her off of her stool. The bruises on my shoulders healed quickly, but I still snarled at Poppy. _"Don't touch me," _I hissed.

Poppy stood up and raised her hands in defeat. "Alright, alright. I was just hoping that you were back to the Lizzie I knew and had a hell of a lot of fun with. I miss her, she was a riot."

I frowned slightly. I did have a lot of fun with Poppy back in the good old days. We used to refer to each other as sisters. Maybe it wouldn't be such a shame, to let her in on my secret. She obviously already knew.

"Fine, you're right. I am behind those deaths, and my humanity is locked up tight. Let me tell you, I missed being the succubus. It was a lot of fun," I smirked before my eyes wandered over to the man I chose to be my snack.

"You want to kill him with me, Poppy? For old time's sake, of course." I smirked up at the blonde, and she returned it.

"Sounds like a plan, Lizzie," she smirked. "You still remember some of our old games?"

"Please, I haven't been gone _that _long, Poppy." I rolled my eyes. "I'll lead him out to the alley."

She nodded, and left me. Then I turned my attention to the hot guy and sauntered over to him. Ten minutes later, with a lie about needing to change a tire on my car, I lured him out back.

"So where's your car?" Josh asked, as I waited for Poppy.

Not even a second later, Poppy had sunk her fangs into his neck. I joined her, enjoying his screams as Poppy and I drained his blood from him- like old times.

Soon Josh was dead, and we let his body drop to the ground. "That was fun," Poppy stated, wiping the blood from her mouth.

It _was _fun. I realized then that killing and playing games on unsuspecting humans wasn't the same without Poppy. A smirk grew on my lips, as I thought up an idea. "Hey Poppy, you wanna take a road trip with me?"

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Paris101 for reviewing!

Please review :)

~Abby!


	35. North Carolina

**Chapter thirty four**

North Carolina

_Elizabeth_

The screams just fueled my blood lust. The running just made the hunt more enjoyable.

"Let's not let this town turn out like Humanity, okay Liz? It won't be nearly as easy to clean up as last time," Poppy told me, as I burned a pile of bodies. We hadn't even been in this small North Carolina town for two days, and they were already adding up.

"Fine," I sighed. Then I looked up at the blonde, a smirk on my lips.

"I feel like getting back to basics tonight, Poppy," I informed her as the smell of charred flesh filled the air.

She smirked back, knowing exactly what was on my mind. "Ripper Lizzie's going to replace Succubus Lizzie, isn't she?" she asked.

"I want to try out some old tricks. Besides, I think that I've already killed this town's supply of decent looking men," I answered, as we walked away from the pile of burning bodies.

"Where to next, after we're done with this town?" Poppy asked.

"I had planned to go back to Mystic Falls, but we can extend our road trip, hit a couple other states before going back." we walked towards the abandoned house Poppy and I were staying at for the time being.

"Why are we even going back?" she asked, and I frowned at her words. That was a good question.

"I don't know…" I said, before giving her a look. "Wouldn't Klaus miss you?"

"He'd miss you more," she retorted.

I shrugged, still thinking about her words. "Maybe we won't go back," I said thoughtfully, and then I smirked. "Who knows? maybe Poppy and Lizzie can go international."

The blonde seemed to like that idea. "We have to go to Europe- I swear blood from different countries tastes different. We can compare."

Raising hell with Poppy was just like old times. With her being around, my humanity was shut away tighter. I was less human when I was with Poppy, and more of a predator, a vampire. I liked it that way.

As I prepared for tonight, getting ready and thinking up some games, I let my mind drift to my brothers. They probably already knew that I was gone, but they had no idea where I was. Stefan and Damon were bad for me- they were just reminders of my human life. They wanted the Elizabeth that cared, that had her humanity. That wasn't me, not anymore.

I heard Poppy's phone ring from the living room, and ran from my room to go answer it. Poppy was out taking care of the rest of our bodies. I picked up her phone from the small, battered coffee table, and answered it.

"_Poppaea, where the hell are you, sweetheart?"_

I smirked at his voice. "You know, she hates being called 'Poppaea,'" I said casually.

There was a pause. _"Elizabeth," _Klaus said, sounding mildly surprised. _"I thought that you would be with that Gilbert boy that you love so much." _He sounded bitter and… jealous?

I was glad to notice that I felt nothing when he brought up Jeremy. "I don't do love, Klaus. You're the one who told me that it's a vampire's greatest weakness, and I'm not weak. I don't feel and don't care anymore. Besides, humans are just too… breakable for me."

"_Ah, so your humanity is off. I'm going to take a wild guess that you're behind the murders of all those men?" _Klaus didn't sound surprised or angry or even like he cared. He sounded slightly curious and amused.

"They were delicious, in case you're wondering." I smirked as I sat down on the couch.

"_I wasn't, but I'm glad that you're having fun, Lizzie. This may be a pointless question, but having your humanity off doesn't change the way you feel about me at all, does it?"_

"Did you miss the part about how I don't feel anymore, Klaus?" I frowned. "The only men in my life are the ones that I seduce and then drain of blood."

"_Sounds hot, though I'm not so sure that I like the idea of you seducing other men, even for food. What about your brothers?" _he asked.

"Buzz kills." I shrugged, before smirking. "You called for Poppy? She's currently dumping bodies into a lake, but I can run and get her."

"_I was simply wondering where she had run off to, but I know now that you've stolen her away."_

"I have, and I don't plan on returning her to you any time soon," I told him.

"_Funny, how two weeks ago you were angry with me for sending her to you," _Klaus mused.

"Well, that was boring, stick-in-the-mud Elizabeth. This Elizabeth is fun and happens to like Poppy- we get into a lot of trouble together." I smirked.

"_I can only imagine the hell you two raise together."_

"Who are you talking to, Elle?" Poppy asked, walking back into the house.

I handed the phone to her. "Klaus," I told her, and she raised her eyebrows.

"What?" Poppy said, before walking out of the house.

"_Where are you two?" _Klaus demanded as soon as he thought that Elizabeth was out of hearing range. His tone changed from mildly amused and casual to serious and slightly angry.

"North Carolina, but I think that I'm taking Elizabeth to Europe. What's got you so uptight?" Poppy frowned. She was so glad that Elizabeth had her humanity off, that she wasn't the goody-goody her sister had turned her into.

"_Nothing, Poppaea. Just… take care of Elizabeth. If something happens to her, I'll rip your heart out, okay?" _Klaus threatened, but Poppy rolled her eyes.

"You don't sound very happy that Elizabeth's humanity is turned off," she pointed out. It was strange though, because Klaus was all for vampires being "true vampires."

"_Of course I'm glad, why would I not be? I'm just reminding you that I'll hold you responsible if something happens to her," _Klaus said, though there was something off about his tone.

He had pushed Elizabeth to return to her old ripper/succubus self, but now that she had, he wasn't so sure. Because it was the human Elizabeth that had caught his eye in the first place. Her spunk and light was what had drawn him in. soulless Elizabeth certainly had an attitude, but that light that had followed her into her vampire life was missing.

Klaus had urged Elizabeth to turn her humanity off because he had witnessed how talented she was at being a ripper, a succubus. But in truth, soulless Elizabeth wasn't the Elizabeth he truly cared for, who had made him break his own rules, who had made him care. That was the Elizabeth with her humanity.

"Don't worry; your precious Elizabeth will be safe with me." Poppy rolled her eyes, before hanging up on him.

Though she'd never say it out loud, it bugged Poppy that Klaus cared for Elizabeth. Firstly, because he was the one who had drilled into her head "vampires are not capable of love." But she was, admittedly, a little jealous. She and Klaus had what could be called a friendship, but they had had sex in the past, numerous times. Yet Elizabeth was the one he was so worried about, the one he cared for. It pissed her off.

_**~LG~**_

"For the love of God, shut the hell up!"

Poppy angrily slammed the basement door shut, after she shoved yet another crying human into the cramped space. We were up to about fifteen.

"When can we just get this started?" she grumbled, walking up to me.

"Now," I said calmly, excited for what we were about to do.

Poppy and I had spent hours collecting humans from town, and then putting them into the small, moldy basement. We left them uncompelled, because it's more fun that way. Plus, it's necessary for the game we were about to play.

"What do you want?" a particularly brave victim growled at me when I opened the door. He was a middle aged man, and I made a note to make him suffer especially.

"Oh, we're going to kill you," I said a calm, casual voice.

"But- but you're just a child! How old are you? Sixteen? Seventeen, maybe?" a woman with tears streaming down her cheeks whimpered.

I smirked at her. "I'm a hundred and sixty one years old," I told her, before turning my attention to the entire group.

"You all are going to decide the order in which you die. The longer you take, the more you're going to suffer," I said in a long voice, before shutting the door. I didn't lock it though, and I made sure that the victims knew it.

"Now we just wait," I said to Poppy, before we both walked out of the house. It was all a part of the game.

Sure enough, five minutes later, a small group of the victims tried to escape from the basement. The brave man was among them. Poppy and I watched from the trees as they carefully snuck out of the house. Once they saw the road, they started sprinting. It was a cruel joke, to let them think that they were safe, and then snatch them up again.

I was all about cruel jokes.

Poppy instantly killed two of the victims, tearing their throats out with her teeth. I killed one by draining her of her blood. That left the brave man who didn't look so brave anymore. I had something special planned for him.

I didn't bother to wipe the blood from my mouth, as I grabbed the man and dragged him back into the house. There were a few more victims trying to escape, and Poppy dealt with them. As soon as I got back to the basement, I glared at the remaining victims, and they backed away from me.

"I'm going to show you what happens when you run away," I growled, before turning to the shaking man in my grip.

I ripped his right arm off, and dropped it on the floor. He howled in pain, as the sickened victims watched on. A few looked like they were going to vomit.

Then I broke his legs so that he couldn't run away. The screams made me thirstier. My fangs descended, and after breaking a few more bones and ripping off a few more body parts, I sunk my teeth into his neck and drank him dry.

"So, who's next?" I asked as I dropped his body to the ground. My fangs were still out, and blood was all over my mouth.

"Me!"

I turned around and got a glimpse at Damon, Stefan, and Lily, before my neck was snapped and everything went black.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **just to make things clear, Elizabeth isn't a real succubus. It's a self-assigned nickname, nothing more.

I'm surprised by how much you guys like ripper/succubus Elizabeth. Personally, I like her better when her humanity's on. I guess that people who like soulless Elizabeth are the same people who like soulless Stefan. I prefer both with their souls.

Thank you to: Paris101, DivineOrder, Pickle, vampgirl13, and vdemily for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby!


	36. rehab

**Chapter thirty five**

Rehab

_Elizabeth_

I groaned, my eyes fluttering open. I was in the basement of the boarding house, tied to a chair with chains. I tried to snap them, but I didn't have any strength. I groaned again when I remembered that I had been caught in the act of playing one of my games by my brothers and Lily.

"Finally, you've been out awfully long, Elizabeth."

I sneered at Lily when she walked down the stairs. "So, I'm guessing that you're putting me through rehab again, right Lil?" I said my voice hoarse.

"I'm gone two weeks, and you're so off of the rails that you have a basement full of innocents. I'm starting to think that I just can't leave you alone, Elizabeth," Lily said, ignoring my question. The answer was obvious.

"I was just having a little fun, Lily," I said innocently.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Watching reality TV and making fun of the stars is fun. Eating junk food is fun. Going to the beach just to check out hot guys is fun. Ripping innocent people apart is _not _fun."

I shrugged. "We have different views on what's fun, then," I said, before raising an eyebrow. "How'd you find me, anyway? And what'd you do with Poppy?" I was a little pissed off at her for just leaving me.

"I know your style, Elizabeth, and you left a trail of bodies behind you with your signature all over it. And Poppy ran away before I could do anything to her." Lily started soaking ropes in vervain.

"Where are my dear brothers? They should join us; it's about to get really fun." I smirked at her. I knew what Lily planned to do to me, but it wouldn't work this time.

"I wouldn't let them see you like this. It's about to get really ugly." As if proving her point, Lily suddenly focused her gaze on me, and I let out a howl of pain as she started draining my body of blood.

She stopped, and I panted, sweating. I let out a humorless laugh. "Your mind tricks aren't going to work this time, Lil. Your whole rehab, 12-step program isn't going to work on me this time. I'm beyond saving now," I told her.

"No." she gritted her teeth. "I refuse to believe it. The Elizabeth who's my best friend is still in there somewhere, I know it."

"Hate to break it to you honey, but she's _gone. _You're stuck with little ol' me now." My smirk widened.

"_Lily, let me see my sister!"_

"Ooh, this is going to be fun," I said, as Damon stormed down the stairs. "Hey there brother. No need to shout. I'm right here."

He stopped when he saw me. I was covered in blood and sweat, a cold, emotionless look in my blue eyes that we shared. I wasn't his Lizzie anymore, and he knew it. "Okay Elizabeth, this is how it's going to go. You're going to turn your humanity back on and turn back into my sweet, innocent, pain in the ass little sister we all know and love. Sound like a plan?" Damon crossed his arms over his chest and stood stoically next to Lily.

"Nah, I don't think so. Having my humanity was so… boring. I like not having it off, makes things more interesting. Oh, and I was never innocent, Damon. Not with my humanity on, not even when I was human. You can talk to Klaus- I was pretty dirty when it came to the bedroom." I smirked at him, enjoying the face he made.

"What, Damon? Didn't you know that your sweet, innocent baby sister lost her virginity to the most feared original, the hybrid?" I asked innocently, batting my eyelashes.

"Oh, I so do _not _want to have this conversation. I think I'm going to vomit," Damon muttered.

"Go back upstairs, Damon. You don't want to see this- trust me," Lily murmured, pushing him towards the stairs.

Damon fixed her with a glare. "She's my sister and I'm not going anywhere until she's back to normal," he said stubbornly.

"Yeah Damon, pull up a chair. If I remember correctly, the beginning's always really fun. Better yet, get Stefan and we can have a nice family bonding session," I said sarcastically.

As if on cue, Stefan walked down the stairs, and I smirked at him. "It's about time you joined the party Stef. I'd hate for you to miss out on all the fun."

Stefan ignored me. "How long do you think it's going to take, Lily?" he asked her.

She shrugged. "It depends. To get her humanity back on is one thing, to get it to stay on is a whole other. She's stronger than she was last time, but I think the fact that she has you two back helps."

"Please, you think I care about our so-called family? We were as dysfunctional as it gets, even back in 1864. You two should've stayed dead," I told my brothers.

"Well, we don't always get what we want, do we?" Damon retorted, pretending that my words had no effect on him. But I saw him flinch slightly.

"If you two insist on being here, you need to know what you're going to witness. It's not going to be pretty at all. She's going to scream and cry and beg you two to let her go. She's going to say very cruel and harsh things, but you can't let it get to you. If it gets to be too much, feel free to leave," Lily told my brothers.

"I'm staying until Elizabeth is Elizabeth again," Stefan said seriously, and Damon nodded.

Lily sighed. She didn't want them to see what was going to happen to their sister, but they were clearly dead-set on not leaving her. "Okay, but don't say that I didn't warn you," she muttered, before turning her attention back to me.

Lily replaced my chains with the vervain-soaked ropes, and I hissed in pain as it sizzled and burned my skin. "Is that the best you got, Lily?" I asked through gritted teeth.

She ignored me and turned back to my brothers. "The first step is to drain the blood from her body. That's the easiest step, but the hardest to watch," she informed them.

She turned back to me, and focused. Suddenly, I started screaming out in pain, the blood being drained from me again. Tears started forming in my eyes as I screamed out at the pain. Lily stopped, and breathed heavily.

"Please," I whimpered, turning to my brothers, tears shining in my eyes. "Why are you letting her do this to me? You're my big brothers; you're supposed to protect me."

I would do and say anything to escape from the torture Lily was putting me through. I was trying to use Stefan and Damon's love for me against them, and it would've worked, if Lily wasn't there. I saw sympathy and guilt flicker in both of their eyes.

"Don't buy it, she's trying to manipulate you two into letting her go," Lily dismissed, before turning her gaze back to me.

I felt the blood slowly and painfully leave my veins. I screamed and shook in pain. It wasn't the first time I had the blood drained out of me, but you never got used to the pain. "Please! Please stop it, please!" I shrieked.

Lily stopped again, and turned to face my brothers. I could see their resolve wavering under my screams. "I know, I don't like it either. But it has to be done, okay? If you want your sister back, it has to be done," Lily insisted.

Damon sighed. "Continue."

"All of you are so pathetic. You're pathetic hypocrites," I growled. "I know that all of you have killed. Even you Lily, with your holier-than-thou attitude. I bet you've all been worse than me."

"The difference is that we're not like that anymore, Elizabeth," Lily said evenly.

I screamed and shouted and pleaded the next hour as Lily drained me of my blood. I yelled harsh and cruel things at them. I wanted it to stop. I didn't want my humanity back, I didn't want the pain.

"You're the most pathetic out of all of them, Damon," I snapped. "You're unwanted and unloved. Dad hated you, mom was always disappointed in you. You spent the next century pining over a woman who chose your brother over you- you're pathetic, and I absolutely hate you. I wish you stayed dead."

Damon didn't show any emotion. "Honey, I've been called much worse." He shrugged.

Eventually, I was drained of any blood. I panted in the chair, my veins feeling like sandpaper. I craved blood, I _needed _it. "What do we do now?" Damon asked Lily.

"Now we make Elizabeth feel," she said softly, her eyes never leaving me.

"Why'd you turn your humanity off in the first place, Elizabeth?" she asked me.

I shrugged, managing a smirk despite my pain. "I'd thought that I'd switch things up."

"It was because of Jeremy, wasn't it?" Damon asked. "Turning your humanity off because of a bad breakup, Lizzie? Really?"

I glared at him. "I couldn't care less about Jeremy," I snapped.

"You love him, but you had to let him go for his own safety," Stefan mused.

"It must've broken your heart, Elizabeth, breaking up with Jeremy. How'd it felt, knowing that your love for him was putting his life at stake?" Lily asked.

"I _don't _love Jeremy!" I screamed, feeling the door holding my humanity rattle behind me. "I'd love to drain him dry, if I could get my hands on him."

"Yes, you do. You love him so much, that losing him caused you more pain than you imagined it would. I know you Elizabeth. I know that you fall fast and hard, but that when you do fall in love, you don't fall out of it. You love Jeremy, even now you do," Lily insisted.

I didn't respond, trying to hold my humanity in check. The three must've sensed that the current topic wasn't going to get them any farther, so Lily changed it. "What about Klaus? You loved him too, and he shattered your heart into a million pieces."

My brothers didn't look too comfortable with the new topic, but Lily didn't change it. "He betrayed you, Elizabeth. You loved him unconditionally and he didn't return that love, did he? He never said 'I love you,' he never told you that he cared. It was all about blood and sex with him, and when he was done, he moved on to the next girl in your town," Lily said harshly.

"Lily," Damon muttered, frowning. She was being cruel, and she knew it too.

"I have to, Damon. I have to make her feel," she murmured.

I closed my eyes, that door shaking rapidly inside of me, threatening to burst open. "I don't care," I whispered.

"What about all of those poor, innocent people you killed, Elizabeth? Think about their families, think about how the light left their eyes as you sucked the life out of them. Think about all the children who'll have to grow up without any parents, and the parents who lost their children. Do you feel guilty, Elizabeth? Do you feel _anything?" _Lily exclaimed.

I let out a shaky breath. I did feel. I felt so much pain and guilt, it threatened to kill me. I tried not to feel, I tried not to care, but I couldn't. Lily had managed to get that door open, and my humanity was back on. I was feeling again.

"All those poor people…" I whispered, my throat tight with tears. What had I done? "I'm a monster, a horrible monster."

Stefan, Damon, and Lily all exchanged looks as I started to cry from the pain that I had held back. They had done it, I had my humanity back. But what if having it back caused me more damage than they had original intended?

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **the next chapter's going to be really intense, I can promise you that. Elizabeth's humanity isn't going to come back without some consequences.

Thank you to: vdemily, Paris101, and Pickle Paige for reviewing!

Review, por favor!

~Abby :)


	37. humanity can kill

**Chapter thirty six**

Humanity can kill

_Elizabeth_

"Lizzie, you need to drink or you're going to desiccate."

I didn't look at Lily. I was sitting on a couch and staring out of the window. A few days had passed since my humanity had been turned back on, and I hadn't had a drop of blood since. All I really did was sit on the couch and stare out the window. I was lost in the guilt I felt. It threatened to swallow me whole.

"I'm not thirsty," I mumbled, tucking my legs underneath my chin.

Lily sighed. "I can get you animal blood if you're not ready for human yet, Elizabeth," she offered.

"I don't want any blood, Lily," I insisted, turning my gaze on her.

"Elizabeth, you can't _not_ drink blood. I get it, you feel guilty, but you can't just sit on the couch all day," Lily told me, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I killed so many people, Lily. They were innocent; they had families and loved ones. And the worst part is that I killed a lot of them out of boredom. I deserve to die, Lily. Desiccation is too easy of a punishment for me," I mumbled, closing my eyes.

"Elizabeth…" she sighed, but I shook my head. I didn't want to hear it. We both knew that I did terrible things to underserving people, and I deserved some sort of punishment for it. I was a monster.

"I just want to be alone, okay? Just leave me alone," I told her.

I heard Lily sigh again before leaving. I was glad to be alone. My brothers and Lily had tried to get me to drink blood the past couple of days, to try to get me out of my funk. But I loathed myself for what I did, and nothing any of them could say would convince me that my loathing was undeserved.

_I deserved to die. _My earlier words to Lily echoed in my mind. I did, I did deserve to die. I deserved to die in the most painful way that I could imagine, to feel the pain that I had caused hundreds of humans. Suddenly, an idea came to me, and I opened my eyes.

I slipped my ring off of my finger, and set it down on a coffee table. Slowly, I walked towards the window, before stepping deliberately into the sunlight.

I gasped out in pain as the sun literally burned my skin. My instinct was to get out of the sun, but I forced myself not to move. I stayed in the sun and closed my eyes as it burned my skin. The pain was unbearable, but I deserved it.

Suddenly, I was pushed out of the sun and against a wall. I opened my eyes to see Damon glaring down at me, keeping my firmly against the wall and away from the sun. I didn't struggle; I just slumped against the wall and avoided his gaze.

I deserved to hurt for the pain that I had caused Lily, Stefan, and Damon. The things I said to them were undeserved, and I didn't mean them. I loved them, they were my family, but they would be better off without me. I caused them pain that they didn't deserve.

"_What the hell, Elizabeth?" _Damon growled as Stefan shut the curtains tightly and grabbed my rings off of the coffee table.

"You shouldn't have stopped me," I whispered, not bothering to fight when Stefan forced my ring back onto my finger.

"Why did you just try to kill yourself?" Stefan asked eyes wide. I gulped slightly; despite all of the terrible things I've done, they still loved me. I didn't deserve that love.

"I killed around a hundred people in two weeks. I'm a monster, and I deserve to die. Why can't you two accept that? I can't live with this guilt- it's eating me alive. Besides, why do I get to live when all the people I've killed are dead? It's not fair," I told them in a dead voice.

"No, you're not killing yourself Elizabeth. I'm not going to let you. I get it, you're depressed. We'll get you a shrink or something and you'll be as good as new. But I'm not letting you die on me- again," Damon said in a determined voice.

Stefan nodded in agreement. "It'll get better, Elizabeth. Once you work through the pain, it'll get better. Killing yourself isn't the answer," he told me.

I just shook my head. It wouldn't bring all the people I killed back to life.

"What happened?" Lily exclaimed, as she walked into the room to see Damon pinning me against a wall, with me covered in slowly healing burns. I hadn't had blood in a long time, so it would take a long time to heal.

"Apparently Elizabeth has suicidal tendencies- who knew?" Damon said dryly.

Lily bit her lip, and I stared evenly at her. It wasn't the first time I had tried to take my own life, but she had forgotten. "What, Lily?" Damon asked her.

She sighed. "The first time Elizabeth turned her humanity back on, she got depressed and tried to kill herself. I stopped her just in time," she explained.

Damon narrowed his eyes at her. "You didn't think that that was worth mentioning?" he asked, glaring at her.

"Damon." Stefan frowned. I frowned too, a little annoyed at the way that they acted like I wasn't in the room.

"Our little sister just tried to _kill herself, _Stefan. Forgive me if I'm a little cranky," he snapped.

"Damon's right, I should've mentioned it before," Lily said, before looking at me.

"Why, Lizzie?" she asked, hurt.

"I can't blame anyone for what I've done. It's not Poppy's fault or Klaus's, it's mine. _I _killed my victims, nobody else. Nobody was forcing me to I did it on my own free will. And I _liked _it too. I'd be doing mankind a favor if I killed myself, trust me," I said, wanting them to see my side of things. They needed to understand what I was going through.

Lily shook her head. "We're not going to let you kill yourself, Elizabeth. End of story."

I opened my mouth to argue, but then Damon snapped my neck and everything went black.

_**~LG~**_

I woke up on my bed and groaned softly. I was alone in my room, and I sat up. I made sure that there was no one around to stop me, and then I pulled off my ring and walked over to my window. I ripped open the curtains and immediately met the sunlight. I closed my eyes and prepared for the burn of the sun.

But nothing happened.

I opened my eyes and frowned. The sun was shining directly on me, but it wasn't burning me. What was happening? Why wasn't it working?

"Did you really think that we were going to give you the chance to kill yourself, Elizabeth?"

I turned around to see my brothers standing at the doorway. "What's going on? Why isn't it burning me?" I questioned, bemused.

"We had Bonnie cast a couple different spells. One to stop you from trying to burn yourself, and one to stop you from leaving this room," Stefan explained.

I frowned and then tried to leave the room, but it was as if there was an invisible glass in front of the door. I couldn't move leave.

"You're stuck in your room until you move past this depression of yours, Elizabeth. There's blood-" Damon gestured to a few bags of blood on a table. "-feel free to drink it. We're doing this for you, Elizabeth."

I turned my back to them. "Didn't mean to hurt you guys," I said quietly. "I just- I don't deserve to live when I've killed so many innocent people. I don't."

"I wish that you'd stop saying that," Stefan said quietly. "You're not nearly as bad as you think, Elizabeth. There's so much good in you."

I frowned as my brothers left me to my thoughts. I wanted to believe that, but I was a murderer. How could I be a good murderer? It was an oxymoron.

I sat back on my bed and thought about how I would kill myself now. I was stuck in my room, and burning to death by the sun wasn't an option. I lay down on my bed, and closed my eyes. I thought hard, when an idea suddenly occurred to me.

I couldn't leave my room, but I could have somebody bring me the things I needed to kill myself. I could think of that person too, the one person who would be willing to help me kill myself. I found my cellphone on my nightstand, and called her.

"_Hello?" _a familiar voice greeted me.

"Katherine, how would you like to help me kill myself?"

_**~LG~**_

I paced my room, waiting impatiently for Katherine to show up. There was always the chance that Stefan, Lily, and Damon would find out my plans and I couldn't risk that. I _had _to kill myself, despite how much it would hurt them all.

"About time," I growled when Katherine appeared in my room, a bag in her hand.

"Remind me why I'm helping you again?" Katherine asked as I took the bag from her.

"Because you want me dead as much as I want to be dead," I replied, unzipping the bag.

"Hurry, I can distract them for about ten minutes," Katherine informed me, before disappearing.

I walked into my bathroom with a bag full of vervain. I had ten minutes before my brothers and my best friend would try to save me again. I ran a bath and then dumped the bag of vervain into the tub. As the plant dissolved, I changed into a tank top and a pair of shorts.

I stared into the water, knowing that if I stayed in it long enough, it would kill me. I took a deep breath, and then slid into the water. It instantly burned and sizzled my skin. I covered my mouth so that I wouldn't scream.

I deserved it. I deserved all of the pain that I was getting.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **Pickle Page, Lady Syndra, Paris101, vdemily, and theoutsidersrbeast for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	38. death is so permanent

**Chapter thirty seven**

Death is so permanent

_Damon_

"Katherine, I'm _really_ not in the mood for your mind games right now. So if you want to keep your heart in your chest, I suggest that you leave before I tear it out."

Damon was in no mood for that little at that moment, and would've liked nothing more than to rip her head off. But Lily's firm yet gentle grip on his arm stopped him from starting something that he might not be able to finish.

"Leave Katerina," Lily said firmly, staring at the vampire. Stefan stood stoically at his brother's side. None of them were in the mood to deal with Katherine.

"What's got all of you so uptight?" Katherine asked, putting a hand on her hip. She knew of course, but they didn't know that.

"Just you," Damon snapped. If she found out that Elizabeth suddenly turn suicidal, she'd have a field day.

He heard the sound of running water coming from Elizabeth's room, but wasn't troubled by it. Katherine was distracting him, and that was the plan. "Where's little Lizzie?" she asked, her curls bouncing as she walked slowly around the boarding house.

"Why, so you can turn her over to your best friend Klaus again?" Damon snapped. He couldn't believe that he ever loved her, especially because of how she treated his little sister.

Katherine rolled her brown eyes. "If I hadn't distracted all of you, Klaus would've killed me. Besides, Elizabeth's alive, isn't she? I can't help that all of you are just too easy to distract."

Before Damon could throw her through a wall, a low hiss of pain was heard from Elizabeth's bathroom, and Stefan, Damon, and Lily all stiffened at the same time. Was Elizabeth making another attempt at ending her life?

"Wait!" Katherine exclaimed when all of them made to run to Elizabeth's room. Lily threw her into a wall, and then ran to Elizabeth's room, the brothers at her heels.

Damon slammed the door open so hard it came off of its hinges. Elizabeth's room seemed normal, but she wasn't in it. Lily ran to the bathroom and opened the door. As soon as she did, she gasped and ran to the bathtub.

"What?" Stefan and Damon asked at the same time, running after her.

Damon's eyes widened at the sight of his little sister in the bathtub. Elizabeth was unconscious and terrible burns covered her body- burns that were caused by vervain. Lily tried to pull her from the tub, but the vervain in the water kept burning her. Stefan and Damon both rushed to help, and together they got Elizabeth out of the water.

"She's alive." Lily breathed a sigh of relief, as she grabbed a towel and started to dry the vervain water off of Elizabeth. She ignored the burns it was causing her. "Someone get me some blood."

Damon ran down to the basement and back up to Elizabeth's bathroom in a second. Katherine was long gone, and he had a feeling that she had distracted them again- this time for Elizabeth. If he ever saw that little slut again…

Damon silently handed Lily the bag of blood, and she ripped it open and put it to Elizabeth's lips. She forced her to drink the blood until she was subconsciously doing it on her own. Damon was frozen with fear. She had been so close to dying, his little sister.

A few minutes later, Elizabeth's eyes fluttered open. Pained blue eyes stared up as she struggled to remember what she had done to herself. "What happened?" she whispered, the blood she had drank already healing her burns.

Damon breathed a sigh of relief- she would be okay. At least, until she tried again.

Damon was always used to protecting Elizabeth from everything- bullies, vampire hunters, and ex-boyfriends alike. But this time the person Damon had to protect Elizabeth from was herself, and that was proving to be difficult.

_Elizabeth_

They say that the seconds after you commit the act that is going to kill you, you regret it. You want to live; you want to take it back. A 161 year old vampire was no exception to that. As the vervain burned away my skin and my strength, I thought about the things I was leaving behind; my friends, my family.

Even if I didn't deserve it, people loved me. My brothers did, Lily did. Klaus claimed that he cared about me. Jeremy did care about me, maybe even loved me. I loved him, and my family was the most important thing to me. Klaus… was so complicated. I was leaving people behind and causing them pain that they didn't deserve. And deep down, no matter how much I deserved it, I didn't want to die. The instinct to live, to survive, was still so strong inside of me. I didn't deserve to live when I've killed so many innocents, but yet, I didn't completely want to die.

I moved to get out of the tub, but my strength was gone. I couldn't move. I let out a hiss of pain as the vervain burned me down to the bone, and I realized right then that it was too late, my revelation had come too late.

My grip on the tub went slack and I didn't even have enough strength to scream. Soon, I blacked out from the pain and I expected to never wake up. I was going to die, and that was what I had wanted all along- until I actually got it.

_**~LG~**_

I woke up with my head in Lily's lap. The first thing that I felt was pain, burning pain. I looked up to see familiar green eyes and even more familiar blue ones staring down at me. "What happened?" I whispered, realizing that I was dripping wet.

I struggled to remember what had happened, why I was wet and in pain. Before my memory could come back to me, Damon told me. "You tried to kill yourself again, and almost did," he said gruffly. I bit my lip and sat up. My body ached and burns covered my body. They were healing, though.

I remembered my latest attempt to kill myself and remembered that I had recruited Katherine to help me. _Katherine. _I shook my head; I must've been really desperate if I had kissed my pride goodbye and asked Little Miss Bitch for help.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, before flinching. There was still vervain on my clothes, and it was burning me.

"We're just happy that you're alive, Lizzie," Stefan told me, and Lily nodded in agreement. Damon was stoic and silent.

"How about you get cleaned up, and then we'll… talk about this, okay?" Lily told me, helping me stand up.

"I don't know if we can trust her alone, Lily. We did before, and she almost killed herself –again," Damon said in a dry, sarcastic voice, though he was completely serious.

I didn't frown or glare at my brother; he had every right to be upset with me, angry even. Trying to kill myself was very selfish of me, but I was starting to learn that I was a selfish person. "I won't, I promise," I told him sincerely.

"Your word doesn't mean a lot right now, Elizabeth," he snapped, and I couldn't help but to flinch slightly.

"_Damon."_ Lily and Stefan glared at Damon at the same time.

"It's fine, okay? You all deserve to be angry with right now," I told them honestly, before walking out of my bathroom and into my bedroom. I grabbed some dry clothes and went to go take a shower in a different bathroom- since mine had remnants of vervain in it- but I couldn't get out.

"We'll call Bonnie and get her to lift the spell," Stefan told me, walking out of my bathroom. I nodded and looked away from his gaze.

He sighed before opening his arms. "Come here, Lizzie," he said softly. Without another thought, I ran to him.

I forced myself not to cry; I didn't deserve to cry. I did this to myself, and I was very lucky that I didn't die. "I'm so sorry," I mumbled into his shirt.

"Don't be. You felt guilty- really, really guilty. I've been through that too, Lizzie. I've never tried to kill myself, but I've been depressed like that. I'm just glad I didn't lose you," Stefan said, hugging me to him.

"Before I blacked out, I realized that I didn't want to die. It was too late, though," I admitted, not letting go of my big brother.

"At least you came to your senses."

I pulled away from Stefan and looked up at Damon. "I'm-" I started to say, but he cut me off.

"Don't say it, okay?" Damon said, suddenly looking emotionally exhausted. He hid it well, though. "Because for all I know, you'll be trying to stake yourself ten minutes from now."

I shook my head, my wet hair flying around. "I'm done with trying to kill myself. I've moved on from my depression," I told him honestly, one of my arms still around Stefan.

Damon raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "You say that, but-" he started to say, but I cut him off.

"I'm not going to try to kill myself again Damon, I swear. I realized that trying to kill myself is selfish of me," I told my brothers.

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Because-?" he prompted.

"Because it's selfish of me to leave you guys, and death would be too… kind. I think that the worst punishment I could put myself through would be to live with my guilt," I told them honestly. It was dark and self-loathing of me to say it, but it was true. "Besides," I added. "I don't want to die."

Damon raised an eyebrow at me. "Does that have anything to do with lover boy?" he asked.

I smiled at his nickname for Jeremy. "It wouldn't be very feminist of me if I said that my only reason for living was Jeremy, but he is one of the reasons, yes."

"Well, I like him more now," Damon said, before pulling me away from Stefan and hugging me. I returned the hug.

"If you ever try to kill yourself again Lizzie, I'll kill you myself," Damon whispered to me. "Are we clear?"

I smiled slightly before pulling away. "Crystal," I told him.

The strange need to kill myself had left me, along with the darker parts of my self-loathing. I still hated myself for what I did to all of those innocent people, but I didn't want to kill myself anymore. I wanted to live. But more importantly, I wanted Jeremy back.

Now that I had my humanity back and had worked through my guilt and pain, that was my biggest desire. I loved Jeremy and I wanted him back. The only thing that stood between us was Klaus, and he was very big thing. There were only two options I could choose from, in order to get Jeremy from.

Option one, I somehow manage to convince Klaus to move on from me and drop his threat to kill Jeremy. Option two, kill Klaus. Both would be impossible to accomplish, and I would be really stupid to attempt either.

But I was going to get Jeremy back, one way or another.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you: Lady Syndra, Paris101, vdemily, RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, DivineOrder, and Pickle Paige for reviewing!

Review, please and thank you!

~Abby :)


	39. eat your heart out

**Chapter thirty eight**

Eat your heart out

_Elizabeth_

"So your plan is to just go up to Klaus and just ask him to not kill Jeremy?" Lily asked skeptically as we went through the clothing racks in a store at the mall.

"Yeah, pretty much," I answered, shooting a sales person a look so that she wouldn't come over and bug us.

"That doesn't seem like a very strong plan," Lily told me honestly. It had been a few days since my suicide attempts, and I had made it very clear to my brothers and Lily that getting Jeremy back was my next obsession.

"Well, that's why I plan to wear something pretty," I told her, pulling a mini skirt off of its hanger.

"That's really slutty, Lizzie," Lily told me, staring at the black leather. I knew it too- if Stefan or Damon even saw me considering wearing it, I'd be locked up in my room until I turned 500.

"That's the point, Lil. I'm hoping if I look hot, it might help my case." I pulled the matching red tank top off of its hanger. I'd wear tights so that I wouldn't look like a prostitute.

"Or it might make him want you more," Lily pointed out the flaw.

I shrugged. "We both know that my plan is more than likely to fail."

"Then why even try?" she asked as I walked to the dressing room to try on the outfit.

"Because it's my only shot at getting Jeremy back. I can't be with him if Klaus is going to kill him for it," I explained, before shutting the door and changing into the outfit.

"Hmm, not nearly as bad as imagined," Lily said when I came out.

"So I don't look like I should be working a corner?" I asked, finding it hard to walk in the leather.

"Oh no, you still look like a prostitute, just more like a classy one." Lily laughed slightly at my expression.

"Great, I look like a high class hooker," I said sarcastically.

"If it helps, I think that you'll have no problem manipulating the original hybrid in that outfit," she said.

I smirked slightly. "He's still a man, Lil, and there's a reason the word 'man' is in 'manipulate.'" Lily laughed.

"Just don't let your brothers see you in that outfit- you would never be allowed to leave the house again," she told me as I went to change out of the hooker outfit.

I snorted. "Please, they don't even know that 'I'm going out to talk to Klaus tonight, let alone wearing a slutty outfit that's going to make his jaw drop to the floor."

"Just be careful, Lizzie, okay?" Lily said seriously when I came out of the dressing room. I saw her unspoken words in her silvery gray eyes. _I almost lost you too many times already._

I smiled at her and then hugged her quickly. "I'm always careful, Lily. Aren't all Salvatores?" I joked to lighten the mood, pulling away from her.

She rolled her eyes as we walked to the cashier together. "Please, you and Damon are impulsive and reckless, and all of you Salvatores are self-destructive," she told me half-seriously. I noticed something flash in her eyes when she mentioned Damon.

"I prefer to be called 'so awesome I don't need to think about my decisions,'" I told her lightly, frowning at her slightly.

What happened between Lily and Damon when I was busy being a ripper?

_**~LG~**_

I got whistled at as I walked into the Grill. I had managed to sneak out of my house without getting caught by my brothers. Lily and I had spent hours getting me ready for my talk with Klaus. I felt like I was going to seduce him, especially since I was wearing a short skirt and showing more cleavage than I should've been. Though I looked good, gorgeous even. Lily had said that not even a millennium old hybrid would be able to resist me.

I sat down at the bar and ignored the catcalls I got from drunks. I ordered a shot of tequila and waited for Klaus to show up. This seemed to be his hangout so I figured that he would show up sometime that night. I looked around the Grill to see if he was in a booth, when my eyes caught a couple sitting at a table. They were giggling and looking all lovey-dovey. I felt like I got punched in the gut, watching them laugh and kiss.

Mallory- Jeremy's date to the founder's ball- laughed at something Jeremy said, and then leaned in to kiss him sweetly. Jeremy returned that kiss and I felt the need to vomit and break something at the same time.

He was dating somebody else. I knew that I had compelled him to move on, to not care about me, but it still hurt. I wanted to rip that Mallory's insides out. I gritted my teeth and looked away from the sickly sweet couple. That should've been me- I should've been the other half of that sickly sweet couple, not Mallory.

"A bottle of bourbon," I compelled the bartender to give me the bottle and then took a swig of it. I was already back to drinking human blood. I had started with animal blood- I really didn't know how Stefan lived on that shit- and eventually got back on human blood.

I kept looking back at Jeremy and Mallory as I drained my bottle. They didn't notice me, they were too caught up in being an adorable couple. I glared at Mallory as she locked lips with Jeremy- she was so, so lucky that I wasn't a ripper anymore, or her insides would be on her outsides.

"Don't you look seductive tonight."

Despite my earlier plan to manipulate Klaus, seeing Jeremy and Mallory together put me into a bad mood. I just wanted to be alone with my bottle. "Eat your heart out, Klaus," I muttered, hopping off of my stool and walking away.

Strong liquor and heels were not a good combination though, and I teetered in the four inch shoes before falling forward. Klaus caught me before I face planted.

"Let go of me," I growled. Klaus smirked slightly before removing his arm from around my waist. I promptly fell on my ass.

I heard Klaus chuckle and I glared up at him. He sighed before helping me up. "You always did make an adorable drunk, Lizzie," he murmured, keeping an arm around me in case I fell again.

"Shut up," I told him, my words slurring slightly. My eyes flicked back over to Jeremy and Mallory, and I saw them staring at me. My eyes widened and I buried my face in Klaus's shoulder.

"No, no, no. don't let him see me," I mumbled. Klaus stiffened before relaxing and pulling me towards a booth far away from Jeremy. He helped me into the booth before sitting down across from me.

"So, Poppy told me that your brothers and Lilianna stole you back from her. I assume that your humanity is back on, isn't it?" he asked as I finished off my bottle.

"I went from being a blood thirsty monster to very depressed to suicidal to normal Elizabeth in the course of five days," I told him, forcing myself not to look back at Jeremy.

Klaus's expression instantly turned serious. "You tried to kill yourself?"

"Twice, and almost succeeded. Katherine helped me out- I don't know why, though." I shrugged and frowned at my empty bottle.

"I'll kill her," he growled, his eyes darkening. It must've been because I was drunk, but Klaus's protectiveness- more like possessiveness- chipped a little bit off of my wall of hatred for him. For one second, I actually believed that he cared about me.

"Don't bother, I decided decades ago that Katherine wasn't worth the time and energy put in to hate her. You'd be smart to decide the same," I told him, before signaling a waitress to get me more alcohol.

"May I ask why you're in that rather revealing outfit?" Klaus asked when the waitress brought me a rum and coke.

I smirked at him as I took a sip of my drink. "Does it bother you? I always thought that you liked my legs." I crossed my bare legs and my smirk grew wider when he checked them out.

"I'm not complaining, merely wondering. I'm curious as to how you managed to get out of your house dressed like that." his eyes scanned my body, taking in the other patches of bare skin. I didn't expect to be so comfortable with his staring. I blamed that on the alcohol too.

"Well, what my brothers don't know won't kill them." I shrugged.

"No, but it may kill you," he countered and I smiled slightly.

"Does a girl really need a reason to dress up and look pretty?" I asked innocently. Despite Jeremy's girlfriend and how drunk I was becoming, I had a plan and I was going to go through with it.

"Yes, because you're a woman Elizabeth, and women usually have an ulterior motive when they get all prettied up," he said wisely.

"Like you're one to talk about ulterior motives," I retorted and I saw a hint of a smile on his lips.

"Yes, I've had ulterior motives in the past, but at least I'm honest about it. I'm not sure that that could be said about you, sweetheart," Klaus said.

I looked up from my half empty drink and met his blue eyes with my own. "I love Jeremy, Klaus. Not even losing my humanity, getting it back, and then trying to kill myself changed that," I told him bluntly.

Klaus was unfazed. "It is very possible to love two people at once, Elizabeth. Just ask every Petrova doppelganger to ever exist."

"You know what I find funny? You insist that I love you, yet you've never said that you care about me, let alone love me," I snapped. I didn't bother to wait for him to defend himself, I just continued. "I don't even think that you're capable of saying 'I love you.'"

Klaus was quiet, and I threw back the rest of my rum and coke. "What do you want, Elizabeth?" he asked me quietly.

"I want to be with Jeremy, but I can't because you're going to kill him if I am," I said, feeling my temper calm down.

"I don't know why you're still even bothering with him, Elizabeth. He's obviously moved on," Klaus said, a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"I compelled him," I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest.

"He's human- they break very easily, and you're not the gentlest vampire to ever exist," Klaus pointed out.

"I was human when we got together, and I'm gentler than you," I retorted.

Klaus smirked at me. "I'm gentle when I wish to be."

I sighed and pushed my hair out of my face. "So you got all dressed up to try to manipulate me into dropping the threat against your human? I'm afraid that your efforts were pointless, Elizabeth. If I ever see him with you, I will rip his heart out," Klaus told me before getting out of the booth.

"It was nice to see you again, Lizzie," he said softly, tossing a few bills onto the table for my drink. "I am glad that your attempts to take your life failed."

I frowned and watched Klaus walk away, before sighing again and standing up. Jeremy and Mallory were gone, so I managed to leave the Grill without having to have that awkward run in with them. I ran back to the boarding house half-drunk, thinking that my plan had failed, though it didn't' have good chances of succeeding in the first place.

"Where the hell were you?" Damon demanded the second I walked into the boarding house. Ever since I went back over to the dark side and then tried to kill myself, Stefan and Damon had been extra protective.

"What are you wearing?" Stefan asked, his eyes wide. Lily stood next to Damon and I could tell by her face that she hadn't told my brothers where I had been.

"You look like a hooker," Damon growled before grabbing a blanket off of the couch and wrapping me in it. I sat down on the couch, feeling like a human burrito.

"Okay, well I'm apologizing in advance if my explanations are half-assed and confusing, I'm kind of drunk," I told them bluntly, leaning against the couch

Damon's eyebrows shot up. He opened his mouth but I silenced him with a glare. "Let's save the comments about looking like a prostitute when I'm sober, okay Damon?" I told him and he shrugged.

"What happened Lizzie?" Stefan asked.

"I went to the Grill to try to talk Klaus into dropping his threat against Jeremy-" I was cut off my Damon.

"Are you crazy?" Damon asked and I frowned at him.

"Don't interrupt me!" I told him before continuing. "Then I saw Jeremy and he was with that slut Mallory-" Damon snorted at my calling Mallory a slut when I was dressed like a hooker. I glared at him before continuing again.

"So then I started drinking and then Klaus showed up. He told me outright that he would kill Jeremy if he ever saw us together, and then he left. So my plan failed and I'm back to square one." I sighed and pulled the blanket tighter around me.

"I wish that we could just kill the guy." Damon groaned and sat down next to me.

"Maybe we can," Lily said suddenly, her eyes widening as a thought occurred to her.

"He's the original hybrid, Lily. We can't kill him, he can't die," Stefan told her.

"A while ago, an old friend of mine was dead set on killing Klaus. Granted, he wasn't a full-fledged hybrid then, but maybe he might know of another way. The thing about the earth is that nothing is truly immortal. You can kill vampires, hybrids, and werewolves. The originals can be killed- it's just really, really hard- so why should Klaus be the exception?" Lily said, pacing the living room.

"Who's your friend?" Damon asked warily.

"He's Klaus's brother, actually," Lily said, turning to face us. "His name is Elijah, perhaps you heard of him?"

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **okay, I'm going to clear things up for you guys. If you're ever confused on where this story intercepts with the show, just tell me and I'll explain it to you. The sacrifice has been done and all of Klaus's siblings are in their coffins. There is no mystery coffin with Ester in it. And Klaus doesn't need Elena's blood to make his hybrids.

Thank you to: vdemily, Paris101, RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, BeckyBoo12221, and Pickle Paige for reviewing!

Reviews are inspiring!

~Abby!


	40. Elijah

**Chapter thirty nine**

Elijah

_Elizabeth_

"No way in hell."

"Elijah is our best hope, Damon," I argued from my spot on the couch. Damon and Stefan were both standing and Lily was perched on the arm of the couch- it was like we split into teams.

"First of all, who the hell knows where Elijah is? Klaus daggered him, that's all we know. His body could be in the bottom of the Arctic ocean by now," Damon told me. "Second of all, even if we did manage to find him, de-daggering him would be very stupid. He betrayed us before, why wouldn't he do it again?"

"He betrayed _you two. _I was in college when all of this was going down, and Lily was in Italy. I have no reason not to trust him, and Lily obviously does," I countered.

"Elijah is my friend. I haven't talked to him in centuries, but I do trust him. he's an honorable man. I find it hard to believe that he betrayed you two in the first place," Lily said calmly.

"Well, he did. And if he hadn't, we wouldn't even be in this situation right now," Damon said.

"He probably doesn't know anything, Elizabeth. If he had, he would've tried it," Stefan told me.

"We don't have any other options, Stefan. If there's even a chance that Elijah might know something, I'm willing to de-dagger him in order to find it out," I told my brothers honestly. "Besides, I know Klaus, and I know that his family is his only weakness. Elijah is somewhere safe- I just need to find out where."

"No, we're not de-daggering Elijah, okay? It's stupid," Damon told me.

Stefan nodded in agreement, and I turned to Lily. She sighed and said, "There's another way, Elizabeth. Elijah is Klaus's brother after all- can we really expect him to help us kill him when he didn't go through with it the first time?"

I frowned at all of them, ready to argue my case again. But then something occurred to me- I didn't need them to awaken Elijah. I could do that on my own without them even knowing.

"I guess you guys are right," I said, standing up. "I just really want to get Jeremy back. de-daggering Elijah would be reckless, impulsive, and stupid."

Damon's eyes widened and he looked a little freaked out. "Did you just admit that we were right?" he asked, sounding shocked.

I glared at him. "I'm not _that_ stubborn," I told him.

"I don't think that you've ever just stopped arguing, Elizabeth," Stefan said, equally as shocked as Damon.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, I'm going to my room," I told them, before walking up the stairs to my room.

I had every intention to de-dagger Elijah, my family just couldn't know about it. I was surprised that Lily gave into my brothers so quickly, especially since she and Elijah were friends back in the day. They all thought that I was the only one who hadn't met Elijah, and that was why I was so insistent on de-daggering him. but I had met Elijah, if only for a few seconds.

_Mystic Falls, Virginia_

_1864_

_I walked to the house Klaus was living in. I was spending more and more time with him, but my brothers didn't notice because they were so caught up with Katherine. My father didn't notice because he was busy because he was becoming obsessed with ridding the town of vampires. Nobody noticed that I spent most of my time with an older man who was not only a vampire, but an original._

_I walked into the house without knocking, like I always did. I looked around for Klaus, but there was no sign of him. I walked towards his bedroom, when I suddenly heard voices. I paused at the door and listened to the conversation._

"_-What are you doing here, Elijah? I thought that I had made it clear- the next time I saw you, I would kill you," Klaus said coldly and I flinched slightly. That voice didn't belong to the Klaus I knew._

"_Katerina is here," said the second voice briskly, ignoring Klaus's words. "Is there a particular reason why she is still walking around, especially since she has the moonstone?"_

"_I have been… distracted," Klaus answered vaguely._

_It suddenly occurred to me that I would be in serious trouble if Klaus caught me listening to a private conversation of his. I turned and walked away from the bedroom and back down to the living room. I sat down on the couch and waited impatiently for him to be finished with his conversation._

_Suddenly, I heard a loud crash from upstairs, and then an attractive man with dark brown hair and matching brown eyes walked calmly down the stairs. He almost didn't notice me as he made his way to the front door. But then I let out a tiny gasp of surprise- inaudible to humans- and he turned around to face me._

_The man's eyes widened slightly at the sight of me but he didn't look surprised- especially when his eyes narrowed in on the bite marks on my neck and shoulders. I stood up and smiled cheerfully at him. "Hello," I said, my friendly and bubbly nature getting the best of me._

"_Hello," he replied apprehensively. _

"_I'm Elizabeth," I introduced myself._

"_Elijah," he replied after a few seconds. He seemed hesitant to talk to me._

_I raised an eyebrow at him. "As in Klaus's brother?" I asked, surprised. They didn't talk like brothers did._

_Elijah barely had time to nod before we were interrupted. "Elizabeth, when did you get here?" Klaus asked, immediately wrapping a possessive arm around me._

_I shrugged. "A while ago. I've been waiting for you." I smiled flirtatiously up at him. Klaus's blue eyes softened in the way they only did for me. _

"_Go upstairs, Elizabeth. I shall join you after I see my brother out," Klaus said, pushing me gently towards the stairs. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Elijah looking at me, obviously surprised and confused. I smiled slightly before I walked up the stairs and left the brothers together._

"So, where are you going?"

Stefan leaned against a wall as I packed a bag- mostly full of blood. "To see a friend in New York," I lied. "I kind of need to get out of this town for a while, but I'll be back tonight."

That was my cover story- that I was going to go visit an old friend of mine that Lily knew. None of them questioned it. "Well, have fun," Stefan said and I smiled up at him.

"I'll try," I said, before swinging my bag over my shoulder and walking out of the boarding house. I got into my car, but instead of driving to New York, I drove west towards Tennessee. As if on cue, my phone went off.

"_Did you leave yet?"_ a cool voice asked me.

"Yeah, I'm on my way. Are you sure that Elijah's in Tennessee? Because Klaus likes to keep his family with him at all times," I said skeptically.

"_I'm positive. He's trying to keep them safe, and from what I've been told, he's in the process of hiding them. so far he's only moved Elijah, and he's in Tennessee," _Katherine told me.

"Okay, but if you're sending me on a wild goose chase, it's off with your head, Kat," I told her.

"_You call me, remember?"_

"Because I needed to know where Elijah is, and you have this special skill of knowing things about Klaus that you shouldn't know," I told her honestly. Calling Katherine for help had seriously bruised my pride, but at this point I'd do anything. It was for Jeremy.

"_Well, he's in Tennessee," _she said shortly before hanging up on me.

I tossed my phone into the passenger seat and then gunned it west, out of Mystic Falls. It took about six hours to get from Mystic Falls to the tiny town of Fredrickson, Tennessee. I wanted to be there in four.

_**~LG~**_

The warehouse Klaus had Elijah stored in was moldy and gross. It was cloudy, threatening rain, as I got out of my car and walked into the abandoned warehouse. I expected there to be somebody guarding Elijah, but the warehouse was empty, save for a few rats.

I kept looking around for there to be some sort of guard protecting Elijah, since Klaus had gone through the trouble of moving him to Tennessee, but I was alone. The warehouse was damp, dark, and quiet as I walked through it. It took me about twenty minutes to walk into a large room, completely empty except for a coffin.

I ran to it and dropped my bag full of blood on the floor. I lifted up the top to see Elijah. He looked the same, except that his hair was different and he was clearly dead. I reached for the dagger, when I was suddenly thrown across the room.

I landed on my arm and broke it. I gritted my teeth as it healed and looked up at my attacker. Several of Klaus's hybrids were in the room. I knew that it was too good to be true. I stood up just as one ran at me.

Without breaking a sweat, I plunged my hand into his chest and ripped out his heart. The hybrid fell to the floor and I dropped his heart next to him. four other hybrids faced me and I raised an eyebrow at them as I wiped my bloody hand on the dead hybrid's shirt.

"Who's next?" I asked before running for Elijah's coffin. One hybrid tried to grab me, but I kicked him out of my way. Before any other hybrid could stop me, I ripped the dagger out of Elijah's chest.

I dropped the dagger and turned back to face the four other hybrids. Now the only thing I had to do was fight off them and keep them from daggering Elijah again until he woke up. Two ran for me, and I was slammed against the concrete floor. I groaned in pain as one reached for my heart.

I kicked one in the face and punched the other one so hard his neck snapped. I stood up and ripped his head off for good measure. I was immediately tackled by a woman hybrid that went to bite me. I managed to keep her at bay, as the other one ran to help her.

"Come on, Elijah," I hissed at the original as the female hybrid sunk her hand into my stomach. "Any day now buddy!"

I groaned in pain as she removed her hand and I sunk to my knees. The other hybrid approached with a stake, and I managed to stand up as the wound in my stomach healed. I grabbed the woman by the neck and went to rip her head off when I was staked in the back, just half an inch from my heart.

With a groan, I fell to the floor again. The male hybrid removed the stake from my back and went to stake me in the heart this time. I braced myself for death, when he suddenly fell to the floor, dead.

I looked up to see the girl's headless body fall down next to him. a familiar man- a vampire- was wiping his hands clean of blood next to her decapitated body. I slowly sat up, not taking my eyes off of the familiar man.

He turned around to face me, his oak brown eyes unsurprised. I didn't think that he ever got surprised. I offered him a half smile as I stood up.

"Welcome back, Elijah."

_Poppy_

Poppy paced the mansion that Klaus had bought and redesigned. She was bored, bored of this town and the people that were in it. She was bored of not being able to kill her sister or the damn Salvatore brothers. She was also bored of Elizabeth and how Klaus practically fawned over her.

"You look upset," Klaus observed as he walked in on the blonde pacing.

"When can we leave?" she asked him, stopping with her pacing. "I'm bored- let's go to Greece! That was fun last time."

"I told you before, I'm not leaving until I have Elizabeth back," Klaus told her.

Poppy glared at him. "She's in love with that human, there's no changing that." she was sick of him talking about Elizabeth- it was always about Elizabeth with him. what made her so damn special? Poppy was prettier than her, and more fun than her, and a better vampire than her. why was Klaus obsessed with Elizabeth freaking Salvatore instead of her?

Klaus shrugged. "I think otherwise, Poppaea," he told her.

But Poppy noticed how his teeth gritted and his eyes hardened whenever Elizabeth's love for Jeremy Gilbert was mentioned. She smirked slightly to herself. "It kills you, that she wants him instead of you," she mused.

Klaus turned his blue eyes onto the blonde. "Just as it eats you alive, that I want her instead of you," he replied coldly before leaving the room.

Poppy glared at Klaus's retreating figure before staring out the window thoughtfully. She was so sick of Elizabeth freaking Salvatore, and she was going to do something about it- no matter what Klaus might do to her. Poppy was going to rid herself of Elizabeth Salvatore.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **firstly, the model for Elizabeth has been changed to Jessica stroup- though you can picture her however you want. Secondly, this story can be considered a Klaus/OC/Jeremy love story. though I'm not going to change the labels, because it's technically not known that Elizabeth's ex is Klaus until around the 20th chapter- though I think everyone figured it out long before it was revealed. I want to know throughout this story what team you guys are on- team Klaus/Elizabeth or Jeremy/Elizabeth.

Thank you: Pickle Paige, JERSEYBABY, and RainySmithCullenSalvatore X for reviewing!

Reviews are appreciated!

~Abby :)


	41. a bad day

**Chapter forty**

A bad day

_Elizabeth_

"I don't know if you remember me-" I started to say, but Elijah cut me off.

"You are Elizabeth Salvatore," he said simply, calm and stoic. It suddenly occurred to me that I was standing alone with an original- someone who was very capable of killing me. Though I had to be the only vampire in existence, I was never really afraid of Klaus. The fact that I had seen his soft side, his human side- if he had one- made him less intimidating to me.

I raised an eyebrow, surprised. I was an unimportant human when we met, and we met only once for not even a minute. I expected him to have no clue who I was. the corner of his mouth twitched in amusement at my expression and it was like he could read my mind.

"You were the first human my brother ever cared about, Elizabeth. That is not something that I will forget," Elijah said, then he looked around the bloody warehouse we were in. "Not that I am ungrateful, but may I ask why you took the dagger out of my chest?"

I frowned slightly- Elijah thought that Klaus cared about me? "I actually de-daggered you to ask for a favor," I told him. I knew that convincing someone to help kill their brother wouldn't be easy, even if he had tried to do it on his own before.

Elijah raised his eyebrows. "What is the favor?"

"You're probably thirsty, aren't you?" I blurted out suddenly, my nerves getting the best of me. "I brought you blood."

I walked over to my bag and pulled out tons of bags of blood that Damon steals from hospitals. I handed them to Elijah, who took them, though his eyebrows stayed raised.

"You're deflecting," Elijah mused as drained one bag of blood. usually vampires who hadn't fed in a while look like animals when they feed- they're messy and wild. But Elijah simply drank the blood like it was a juice box- he didn't even slurp. He was a classy guy- I could see him and Lily being friends.

"What is it that you want from me, Elizabeth?" Elijah asked me again.

I took a deep breath. _Elijah is a moral, honorable man. it wouldn't be very honorable to kill the person who saved your life, _I told myself. "I… I want you to help me kill Klaus," I told him, trying to calm down.

Elijah's eyebrows shot up again. "Stefan and Damon Salvatore are your brothers, yes?" he asked me.

I nodded, my eyebrows furrowed. "Do they know that you're here, that you brought me back to life, for all intents and purposes?" he asked.

I bit my lip. "I might've left that tiny detail out," I said.

"That explains why you're here, then. I doubt that your brothers would let you take my dagger out, because the last time I helped them, I betrayed them- or do you not know that?"

"I know what you did," I told him. "But I also know that you did it for your family. Honestly, if the situations were reversed, I'd betray you to get my brothers back."

"Then why are you here, Elizabeth?" Elijah asked, his eyebrow still raised.

"Because you're my only chance at killing Klaus," I said. "Besides, Lily was the one who told me to de-dagger you, even if she changed her mind."

"Lilianna, you mean?" Elijah asked, his eyes widening slightly.

I nodded. "She's my best friend, and she considers you a friend too," I told him.

For a second Elijah looked like he might agree to help me, just because of Lily, but then he shook his head slightly. I sighed- I knew that this wasn't going to be easy.

"Everything is completely in your favor, Elijah," I told him quickly. "Even if you don't help me kill your brother, you're alive again. Klaus is going to have my head if he ever finds out that I took your dagger out. In all honesty, my plan was absolutely terrible. If you can't tell, I'm desperate. I want him out of my life and you're my only hope. So if you could please just take pity on me and help me out, I'll do anything for you."

Elijah was silent as he considered my words. I knew that I sounded desperate and pathetic, but I was desperate and pathetic. "Why do you wish Niklaus dead, Elizabeth? The first and last time we met, you were very much in love with him, I could see it in your eyes," he said finally.

I was silent for a moment. "It's a long story, and it won't make me sound very good, like a pathetic little girl. Klaus and I aren't together anymore. I can't be with the guy I do love because he'll kill him if I am. So I have to kill Klaus to be with him," I said finally.

"Niklaus can't be killed, Elizabeth. He is a hybrid now, and cannot be killed," he told me.

"Your mother was a witch Elijah, Klaus told me that much. So you know that to keep the balance of nature there is a way to undo everything. Spells, rituals, curses… supernatural creatures. There's a way to kill everything, and you know it," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

Elijah sighed. "Why should I help you, Elizabeth?" he asked.

"I can give you three reasons off of the top of my head. One, I brought you back from the dead. I'm not saying that you owe me, I'm just saying that that should get me into your good graces. Two, Klaus killed you. Three, you tried to kill him before, why not finish what you started?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"He has my family, Elizabeth. If there is even a chance I can get them back…" Elijah trailed off, fixing his brown eyes on me.

"I can get you your family back, Elijah!" I exclaimed suddenly. "I'll do anything if you just help me. you know of a way to kill Klaus, I know it. Please, I love him."

I was desperate, so, so desperate to get Jeremy back. Elijah knew it too. I thought for a second that he might take pity on me and agree to help me kill his brother. But then he shook his head.

"Thank you for bringing me back, Elizabeth," he told me.

And then Elijah was gone.

_Lily_

Lily had a feeling that Elizabeth wasn't completely honest on where she was going. But she didn't tell Stefan and Damon about her feeling, because she honestly wouldn't mind Elijah being back in the world. They were friends, after all. Lily also trusted that Elijah wouldn't kill Elizabeth right after she de-daggered him- it would go against his morals.

"Be careful- if you keep thinking that hard you're bound to hurt yourself."

Lily smiled slightly and turned away from her window to look at Damon. "I'm just thinking about how we could possibly kill a hybrid that can't be killed," she lied, resting her chin on her knees.

Damon shrugged and walked up to her. "We'll figure it out," he said casually, like a way to kill Klaus just might fall from the sky.

Lily frowned at him. "How can you be so relaxed about everything?" she asked him.

"My biggest worry is that the people I care about die, and right now, everybody seems safe," he said.

Lily gave him a teasing smile. "Damon Salvatore cares?"

Damon shrugged again. "I have a short list."

She laughed, throwing her head back slightly. Even though the two hadn't had a chance to really talk since she left, it wasn't awkward between the two of them. Both Lily and Damon were glad for that.

"But you're right, Elizabeth is safe from Klaus because he 'cares' about her now. We're all safe because he wouldn't want to make Elizabeth any angrier at him than she already is. that means we're safe from Poppy as well, but I don't expect any of this to last long. It isn't Klaus and it isn't Poppy," Lily told him, playing with a lock of her hair.

Damon nodded in agreement. "Shit's gonna hit the fan soon."

There was silence between the two of them. It wasn't awkward exactly, but it wasn't comfortable either. "Are we ever going to tell Elizabeth about us?" Lily blurted out suddenly. _Is there even an us to tell about?_

Damon sighed. "I'm not looking forward to telling my little sister that I've slept with her best friend- multiple times." He smirked slightly at that.

"Is that just what we are? Sex buddies?" Lily blurted out again, before clamping a hand over her mouth. "Sorry, I really need to le-"

Damon cut her off my pulling her into his arms and kissing her softly, sweetly. "I care about you Lil, if that's what you're wondering," he said in a soft, un-Damon-like voice.

Lily beamed back, something fluttering in her stomach. "You can say that you care about me too, Lily." Damon frowned when she didn't respond.

Lily just kissed Damon again, the kiss saying more about her feelings than she ever could. The two ended up on her bed, and even though both knew that they shouldn't sleep together again until Elizabeth knew about them, when clothes started coming off neither stopped. That was very foolish on their part, especially with their history of being walked in on.

_Elizabeth_

It was not my day. It was, in fact, a bad day for me. first Elijah refused to help me kill his brother, then my car broke down, causing my ride home to take much longer than it should've. By the time I got back to the boarding house, the only thing I wanted to do was take a hot bubble bath and watch chick flicks with Lily.

"Lily?" I called, walking towards her room. "Are you here?"

I got no reply. It seemed that I was the only one in the house. "Lil, I could really use a girl's-" I cut myself off as I pushed open her bedroom door. My eyes widened at the sight, and I was so frozen in shock and horror I didn't know what to do. Then I came out of my trance.

"Oh my god!" I screamed, covering my eyes at the sight of my brother screwing my best friend. "My eyes! I'm blind!"

"Elizabeth!" Lily screamed, covering herself and Damon with a blanket.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! I'm going to vomit!" I screamed, running away. Not only did I see Damon screwing Lily, I saw both of them naked. I saw my big brother naked. I was scarred for life.

I ran out of the boarding house, running away from the situation. I found myself in the middle of the woods, and stopped running and leaned against the tree. Every time I closed my eyes I saw Damon's bare ass. I was never going to be the same.

"Hello, Elizabeth."

I stiffened at the familiar, unwelcomed voice. "I'm not in the-" I started to say, turning around.

I didn't get a chance to finish my sentence, because then my neck was snapped and I fell to the ground, unconscious.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: hidansgirl1234, BeckyBoo12221, Pickle Paige, Katerina The Von, and Paris101 for reviewing!

Review, por favor and gracias!

~Abby :)


	42. jealousy

**Chapter forty one**

Jealousy

_Elizabeth_

I groaned as my eyes fluttered open. My neck was sore and I was a little irritated with myself as my memories came back to me. This had to be about the millionth time my neck had been snapped. I needed to work on my defense skills badly.

As my eyes adjusted to the lighting, I looked around to see that I was in a dark and damp basement, the only light coming from the windows. I was tied to a chair, heavy metal chains holding me down. I tugged at them but they wouldn't give. I sighed and looked around the room again, but I was alone.

I struggled to remember who attacked me, but I couldn't. if it was Klaus trying to convince me to admit that I love him again, I was going to be super pissed off. but when Klaus tied me up, the chains weren't painfully tight like they were now. I bet whoever attacked me didn't like me that much.

"It's about time you woke up, Lizzie," Poppy said cheerfully, walking into the room. I sighed when I saw her- it seemed like I was stuck in another one of Poppy's sick games.

"What the hell, Poppy? Honestly, you need to decide if you like me or if you hate me, because this is starting to get ridiculous. One minute we're besties, dropping bodies in North Carolina together. The next I'm jumped by you and tied up to a chair. Pick a side, Poppy," I told her.

Poppy pretended to be deep in thought. "Well, if I have to… I'm on the team that gets to tear you limb from limb," she told me, a malicious smirk on her lips.

I sighed. Not the choice I was hoping for, but I didn't really expect anything less from her. "May I ask why you went from my best friend to my worst enemy in the course of two weeks?" I asked, like I wasn't tied to a chair by painfully heavy chains.

"I've wanted you dead for a long time, Elizabeth," she told me, her blue eyes cold. "Ever since Lily converted you to the 'good side,' and you got the fun sucked right out of you. I thought that I might've gotten the fun Lizzie back- the succubus, the ripper- but she was gone after only a week and a half. Now I'm bored with you, and when I get bored heads roll."

"What about Klaus? I bet that he won't be too pleased that you're about to kill me," I told her. I hated that I was using the man I was plotting the murder of to inflict fear in Poppy- it was low in by books- but I was honestly curious. They were supposed to be friends, and yet here she was, trying to kill the vampire he claimed to care about.

"Please." she rolled her eyes. "I'm doing him a favor. I swear, you're making him lose his way. He's refused to go on a killing spree with me for weeks now, because he thinks that you'll hate him even more. It's like you're his next obsession; for the past millennium it's been breaking his curse, now it's getting you back.

"You're ruining him, Elizabeth," Poppy continued. "He's not the same Klaus anymore, and I don't like it. He's pathetic, absolutely pathetic. You're bringing out his humanity, something I thought was long dead. I'm doing him a favor, and when you die, hopefully the remains of his humanity will too."

I seriously doubted that Poppy was killing me Klaus. It was something deeper than that. "I don't even get what he sees in you, really," she added, wrinkling her nose. "Klaus has seduced princesses and queens ten times prettier than you. He's won their hearts without compulsion and after he's had his fun, he's tossed them aside like they were trash. Yet _you're _the one he's hung up on, the one he's trying so hard to get back. there's nothing special about you, you're just a regular vampire. I don't get it."

Suddenly, it occurred to me. Poppy was _jealous._

"You're trying to kill me because he wants me instead of you, and you can't stand it," I whispered, my eyes widening. I had no idea that there was anything remotely romantic between the two of them.

"No." Poppy scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Of course not. I just know that Klaus would be so much better off if you no longer existed."

"Liar." I smirked at her. "You're jealous, Poppy. I gotta say, killing me because I'm' the one Klaus wants is really pathetic."

"I've killed for a lot less Elizabeth, and so have you." Poppy smirked back at me. "Besides, I'm still a little sore from when you, my sister, and your brothers locked me up in a tomb for a few hours. My neck was really messed up from when my sister broke it."

She strode over to the windows behind me that were covered by blinds. At that moment, I looked down at my left hand to see my ring missing. My eyes widened in fear just as Poppy pulled the blinds back.

I screamed out in pain as the sun burned my skin. I didn't know how I had managed to hold back my screams when I had tried to burn myself to death. It was painful- so, so painful.

Before I could catch on fire, Poppy covered the windows with blinds again. I breathed heavily as I slowly healed. I realized that Poppy had no plans to make my death short. It wasn't Poppy, to be merciful like that.

"We're going to have so much fun, Lizzie," Poppy told me with a smirk, before drawing back the blinds again.

_**~LG~**_

Two and a half hours later, Poppy had tortured me in ways that I had never thought possible. After I was a bloody mess from her torture, she laughed when I asked if she was going to kill me, now that her fun was over.

"Lizzie, I'm just getting started. Think of the past hours as a warm-up. If you think that being burned by the sun was rough, just wait until I actually set you on fire," she told me, suddenly producing a jug full of lighter fluid and a matchbook.

"Oh god." I groaned and closed my eyes. I had had vervain poured over every inch of my body, wooden darts shot into my neck, vervain soaked knives carve up my body, and a stake plunged through my vocal cords. I just wanted to die already, and Poppy knew it.

Poppy shook her jug only to realize that it was empty. "Hold tight for a few minutes, Liz. I just need to get a refill," she said before leaving the basement turned torture chamber.

Suddenly, Poppy's cellphone went off on the table holding bloody knives and stakes next to me. I felt hope as I listened to the ringing. If I could just get my arm loose…

I tugged weakly at the chains. I was weaker than I had been when I woke up, and I hadn't been able to get free then, so there wasn't a lot of hope that I would be able to get free. Still, I tugged at the chains, trying to get free.

Somehow, I managed to get my right arm free and I reached for the phone. My hand closed around it and I answered just as it rang one last time.

"_Poppy, where the hell are you? I've been calling all day."_

For some reason, I didn't even mind hearing Klaus's voice on the other line. It would've liked to hear anybody's voice at that point. "Help me," I said in hoarse voice, every inch of my body hurting.

"_Elizabeth?" _Klaus asked, sounding confused. _"Why are you with Poppy?"_

"Sh-she has in a… in a torture chamber," I wheezed out.

"_What? Where are you?" _he demanded.

I suddenly heard Poppy returning and I hung up on him. I could only imagine what she would do to me if she found out I had told Klaus that she was torturing me. I managed to get my arm wrapped back up and waited quietly for her to return. I could only hope that Klaus cared enough about me to come get me.

"Ready to play a game, Lizzie? I like to call it 'Burn The Vampire.' How it works is that I'm going to burn your body parts one by one, until you're nothing more than a pile of ash. Sound good?" Poppy said, walking up to me.

"Can't we play Monopoly instead? I'd even settle for Battle Ship, and I hate Battle Ship," I said lightly, despite the situation.

"Sorry Liz, I'm running this show, so I get to pick what we play." Poppy smirked at me before pouring the lighter fluid onto my left leg. I braced myself for the burn, for the pain. I expected it to be like the sun burning me, but it was much, much worse.

Poppy lit a match and dropped it on my leg, causing it to burst into flames. At first, I just felt the intense heat, as the flames burned my jeans. But once it came in contact with my actual skin, I howled out in pain.

It was excruciating, I felt very sympathetic towards the millions of witches who were burned at the stake. I felt their pain at that moment, my whole leg being engulfed in flames.

Poppy put out the flames before it could actually burn my leg to ash. I whimpered in pain as I slowly started to heal. I would take burning in the sun over that. "Wasn't that fun?" Poppy asked me condescendingly.

I decided that if I was going to die, I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. "Eh, I've had sunburns worse than that." I shrugged, playing off the pain.

Poppy glared slightly, before setting my other leg on fire. This time I didn't scream. I held it in, biting down on my lip so hard I drew blood. Poppy watched with agitation as I didn't react to my burning leg.

She sighed before putting it out. "You know, you're ruining my fun, Elizabeth," she told me.

"Maybe you're not trying hard enough," I retorted. It wasn't smart, antagonizing her, but it was just too fun.

"Oh really? Well, guess what? I'm going to burn you to a crisp until you scream." She dumped the lighter fluid all over me, soaking every inch of my body.

"One," she counted, pulling a match out

"Two," Poppy continued, lighting it.

"Thr-"

"_Don't. You. Dare."_

Suddenly, Poppy was thrown across the room, her match falling to the floor and going out. Klaus pinned Poppy to the wall by her throat, glaring at her with hatred in his eyes.

"How did you-" she tried to gasp out, but he tightened his grip around her throat so she couldn't speak.

"Silence," he growled. "The only reason your head is still attacked to your body Poppaea, is because I think Elizabeth has that right to do it, after what you've done to her."

Klaus turned to look at me, and his eyes softened. My eyebrows furrowed, as I realized that they always softened when he looked at me. "Would you like the honor, Elizabeth?" he asked me casually.

I did, but I wanted blood more. I wanted to go home and heal much more than I wanted to kill Poppy. "You can do it," I told him, my voice hoarse and rough.

"If you're sure…" Klaus turned back to Poppy, but she was suddenly gone. Klaus cursed, fury in his blue eyes.

"Slippery little bitch," he growled, looking like he wanted to go after her.

"Can you take me home? Please?" I asked him.

Klaus turned his eyes to me and they softened again. He nodded and easily ripped the chains off of me. Without asking for permission, he picked me up bridal style and walked us out of the abandoned house we were in.

I was soaked with lighter fluid, but Klaus didn't care. I was covered with burns and wounds that had yet to heal, and he focused on that. "You need blood," he said bluntly as we walked down the road towards my house. It was night time, which was good since I no longer had my ring.

"Why did you come get me?" I asked, ignoring his words. I was uncomfortable with how I felt comfortable in his arms.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Would you rather me leave you there to burn alive?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, I'm just a little surprised is all. I figure that you do the torturing, not the rescuing, so it's weird to see you switch sides."

The corner of his mouth twitched upward. "Well, I've never had anyone who meant enough to me that they were worth rescuing," he told me, nothing but honesty in his eyes.

Again, he chipped another piece off of the wall that I had around my heart, specially made to keep him out. "Stop it," I mumbled, looking away from his eyes.

Klaus half smiled down at me. "Stop what?" he asked innocently.

"Stop being sweet and nice to me, it makes it harder to hate you. Besides, you're not sweet and nice- you're Klaus the evil hybrid," I told him, slightly delirious from the pain.

"In case you haven't noticed Elizabeth, you have a certain effect on me. I may not be sweet and nice to other people, but you're the exception. You've always been the exception," he told me softly.

I closed my eyes, the cool night air blowing gently against us as we walked. This was too much to deal with. I had just narrowly escaped from being tortured- again. I was planning Klaus's murder- though I had currently hit a huge snag. Elijah was out running around somewhere and if Klaus ever found out that I was the reason, sweet and nice Klaus would disappear. Poppy was out there too, probably planning my murder. Lily and Damon were hooking up behind my back and I was mentally scarred from walking in on them. Now Klaus was suddenly sweet and nice and _human, _and he was slowly worming his way back into my heart. Then there was Jeremy, who had already moved on from me. It was too much for one vampire to process at once. So instead of thinking too hard, I just leaned my head against Klaus's shoulder and closed my eyes.

"Thank you," I whispered. His shoulder made a good pillow, something you would not expect from an evil hybrid.

"You're very welcome," Klaus whispered back. "Go to sleep, love."

I snuggled into his comfortable shoulder and did as told.

_**~LG~**_

When I woke up again, I was in my bed. My wounds were healed, and it was as if Poppy had never tortured me in the first place. I sat up, wondering how I had healed. I guessed that Klaus must've fed me blood in my sleep.

It was still night and I guessed that everyone was asleep. I wondered if they knew that I was kidnapped and tortured by Poppy. I wondered how long I had been gone. Then I thought back to Lily and Damon and shuddered slightly. I would never be the same again after seeing Damon's ass and Lily's breasts. I wondered if I could have Klaus compel me to forget about walking in on them.

I smiled slightly before I caught myself. No, I couldn't let him back into my heart, especially since I was trying to kill him to get Jeremy back. As I moved to get out of bed, a heavy piece of cardstock fell to the floor. I picked it up and saw the familiar handwriting. Even after not having seen it after 146 years, I still knew it.

_Elizabeth,_

_Feel better. I'll be looking for Poppy, and when I find her, I'll make her pay for what she had done to you. She'll never be able to hurt you again. I'll make sure of it. _

_Fondly, Klaus_

I smiled again, before setting the note down on my nightstand. As I stood up, I saw that there was another piece of paper on the floor. It picked it up to find not another note, but a drawing. It was of me. I was smiling, looking calm and confident and full of life. I didn't look like a vampire who broke her own heart, who turned into a bloodthirsty monster, and who tried to kill herself. I looked like the human Elizabeth, the one who had never felt any real pain or betrayal, outside of losing her mother at a young age. I was never close with my mother, though.

Underneath the drawing was another little note from Klaus. _Only you can call an evil hybrid sweet and nice and get away with it._

I smiled again before setting the picture down next to his note. It was stupid, that I was letting Klaus get back into my heart right when I was planning to kill him. I kept reminding myself of Jeremy as I stood up and made my way towards my bedroom door. I needed more blood.

"May I have a word, Elizabeth?"

I jumped at the familiar voice. "Elijah? What are you doing here?" I asked, turning around.

Elijah was calm and stoic, like always. "I'm here to talk to you," he told me. His eyes wandered over to the drawing and note on my nightstand. I was sure that he recognized his brother's handwriting, but he didn't say anything.

"Okay," I said, still confused. "Talk."

"I've been thinking about what you said to me a few days ago, when you took the dagger out of my chest. I think that I will help you kill Niklaus," Elijah told me, "On one condition."

I raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"You, in turn, help me get my family back."

I nodded, not knowing how I was going to pull that one off. _Jeremy, it's for Jeremy, _I reminded myself. "So I take it that you actually know of a way to kill Klaus?" I asked.

He nodded. "Just so we're clear, there's a good chance that it will lead nowhere," he told me.

I shrugged. "It's better than nothing, which is what I have right now," I said.

"So, do we have a deal?" he asked in a business-like tone.

I nodded. "You have my word that I'll help you kill my brother, Elizabeth," Elijah told me. I knew that that meant a lot, to have his word.

"And you have mine, that I'll help you get your family back," I said.

It felt wrong, planning the murder of the man who had just saved my life, yet I was still doing it. _Jeremy, it's for Jeremy, _I told myself again. Everything I was doing was for Jeremy. He was the one I loved.

Right?

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **good chapter for you Klaus/Elizabeth shippers. Bad chapter for you Jeremy/Elizabeth shippers. But Elijah's in it, so that makes it a good chapter for all :)

Thank you to: Katerina The Von, Pickle Paige, Lady Syndra, Paris101, and RainySmithCullenSalvatore X for reviewing!

Reviews are inspiring!

~Abby :D


	43. good times

**Chapter forty two**

Good times

_Elizabeth_

_Mystic Falls, Virginia_

_1864_

_I was sitting on the large bed in Klaus' bedroom reading. I rested my head on the pillow and focused on the book. I was alone in his house, though this wasn't new. I spent most of my time at the house Klaus had bought, even when he wasn't there. I didn't like being home- I didn't like my father and I couldn't stand Katherine. I missed my brothers, but they spent most of their time fawning over Katherine._

_I sighed and closed my book. I wasn't much for reading, though I could read. I got out of the bed and began to look through Klaus' room. It didn't have a lot of the personal touches that made a bedroom a bedroom, though there were a few personal things in it- you just had to look hard enough._

_On his desk, I found a stack of drawings. They were beautiful and I was careful not to tear the fragile paper. They were of places, people, and even a few animals. I sat down on his bed and looked through them._

"_Snooping Elizabeth?"_

_Klaus appeared in front of me and I spared him a glance before looking back down at his drawings. If anyone else had been looking through his things, he would have been angry. But he seemed amused at my snooping._

"_I did not know that you could draw," I said, a small smile on my lips._

_Klaus shrugged and sat down next to me. "You never asked," he countered._

_I rolled my eyes and looked back at the drawings. Suddenly, an idea popped in my mind, and I blurted it out without a thought._

"_Can you draw me?"_

_I looked up expectantly at him, waiting for an answer. "I already have," Klaus answered, unabashed. He pulled out a sketchbook from a drawer and handed it to me. I opened it to find pictures of me. _

_They were all different- some showed my entire body, others just my face. They were all very good and everything seemed to be correct, but something was off. He echoed my thoughts out loud._

"_I cannot seem to get your smile right- it either comes out a smile or a smirk, and yours is a cross between the two," he said._

"_My nose is too long, too," I pointed out._

"_In my defense, I've always worked from memory. I've never had the real thing in front of me while I drew," Klaus told me._

_I smirked at him before stretching out on the bed. "Let us change that."_

_A small smile formed on his lips and Klaus kissed me gently on the lips before grabbing a pencil. _

When I walked down to the living room in the morning, Stefan, Damon, and Lily were waiting for me. I found it hard to look at Lily and Damon and instead focused on getting myself coffee.

"So, who kidnapped you this time?" Stefan asked, choosing to ignore the awkwardness between Lily, Damon, and I.

I turned around to face them. "You knew that I was missing?"

Lily nodded. "You were missing for two days, Elizabeth. With your track record, we figured that you were kidnapped again," she said.

"We were looking for you, but whoever took you cleaned up very well after themselves," Damon said gruffly. "So who was it? Klaus again? Katherine? Poppy?"

"Poppy," I answered, pouring myself a cup of coffee.

"How did you get away?" Stefan asked curiously.

I took a deep breath. "Klaus rescued me," I admitted.

My family looked mildly surprised, though not as surprised as I expected them to be. Klaus had been saying that he cared about me, after all. "Did he kill Poppy?" Lily asked immediately. I knew that she wanted Poppy dead, but she was her sister after all. A part of Lily couldn't let go of Poppy and she never would be able to.

I shook my head. "She escaped before he could."

"Good with me, I call dibs on ripping her throat out," Damon growled.

I raised an eyebrow. "She's Lily's sister, Damon. You know Lily, your little sister's best friend-slash- the girl you're screwing," I said sarcastically, a little bitterness seeping into my tone.

Lily turned a deep red, Damon remained expressionless, and Stefan's eyes widened. "You know?" he asked.

My eyebrows shot up. "_You _knew? God, did everyone know before me? I mean, it's not like I mean anything to the two of you," I said sarcastically, a little angry.

Lily sighed. "Elizab-" she started to say, but I cut her off.

"Look, I'm not mad that you two are… together now. Freaked out and mentally scarred for life? Yes. Angry? No. I'm a little angry that I had to walk in on you two screwing to find out. You should've told me- it would've saved me from being scarred for life," I told them honestly.

"We wanted to tell you, Elizabeth, really-" Lily started, but Damon cut her off.

"I didn't," he said bluntly. "You made it very clear that you didn't want us together, Elizabeth. So why even try?"

I sighed. "It wasn't my place to do that. If you two want to hook up, go crazy- as long as you don't do it in my bed, I'm fine. I'm just worried about one of you screwing up-" I shot Damon a look. "-and it becoming really awkward. If one of your hearts gets broken, I'm going to break the other one's face just so we're all clear."

Both of them nodded and I sighed again. I didn't know if Lily and Damon were just friends with benefits or if they actually cared about each other. I hoped that it was the latter, because I knew from experience that friends with benefits never worked. Someone always ended up getting hurt.

It was cloudy enough that i could go outside without getting burned alive, so i decided that Lily and i would be going out. "Lily, we're going out for breakfast," I told my best friend abruptly, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her to the door. We had a lot to catch up on.

_Mystic Falls, Virginia_

_1864_

_I was outside in the backyard of Klaus' house, a sketchbook in my hand. My lips were pursed as I struggled to draw the tree in front of me. I was trying to teach myself how to draw and was failing miserably._

"_You are adorable."_

_I turned my glare from the tree to Klaus. He was looking down at me, clearly amused. I glared at the ancient vampire and he merely chuckled in response. "I am not adorable- I am beautiful and sexy," I corrected him, looking back down at my half-finished drawing._

"_You are both of those things too, Elizabeth," Klaus agreed. "But you are adorable when you are failing miserably at something yet are too stubborn to admit it."_

"_You make drawing seem so easy." I sighed and dropped the sketchbook on the grass._

"_Nine hundred years of practice, love," Klaus told me, before sitting down next to me._

_I looked up at the sky; it was a bright blue and puffy clouds were floating lazily through the sky. "You have been to a lot of places, have you not?" I asked him._

_Klaus nodded and I sighed before lying down on the grass and staring up at the sky. "I have never left this town," I told him. Even though I was a woman and meant to marry and raise a family, I wanted to see the world._

"_You are still young, Lizzie. You have plenty of time to see the world," Klaus assured me, lying down next to me._

"_Will you take me to see it?" I asked him abruptly, turning my head to face him._

"_I will take you to where ever you want to go," he told me and I smiled at him before turning my gaze back to the sky._

"_It must be lonely for you. You do not have anybody, do you?" I murmured suddenly._

_Klaus shrugged. "I do not mind it," he told me, but I could tell that he was lying. _

"_Yes you do. Nobody likes being alone forever, Klaus," I told him. _

_I turned to face him again to find that his face was only an inch away from mine. "I will not let you be alone," I whispered, lightly touching his face._

"_Promise?" he asked, suddenly seeming less like an original vampire and more like a lonely, broken human._

_I nodded. "I promise," I told him. Then I sealed it with a kiss._

Lily and I sat at a booth in a small diner. I devoured my pancakes as Lily drank her coffee. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about Damon and me," she apologized.

I waved her apology away. "It's fine, Lily. I guess, in a way, I should've seen it coming," I said.

"I actually do care about Damon, Elizabeth. I like him, a lot. I'm falling for him," she admitted.

I smiled at her. "Good, I'm glad. After all the shit Katherine's put him through, he deserves a girl like you. I just hope that Damon doesn't do something impulsive and self-destructive," I said.

"I don't think that he'll cheat on me- the sex is really good," Lily said lightly.

My nose wrinkled and I covered my hands with my ears childishly. "Gross! No talking about sex with my brother, Lily!" I exclaimed.

Lily laughed at my expression, before sobering. "Speaking of sex, we never got to talk about how sex with Klaus was," she said, stirring her coffee.

I raised an eyebrow. "That was random."

She shrugged. "I'm just curious, that's all. Besides, he did save you from my sister."

I sighed and pushed my hair out of my face. What Klaus had done was seriously messing with my head. I had been thinking about our good memories all morning, the things that had made me fall in love with him. I had a deal with Elijah, yet I was questioning my decision to kill Klaus in the first place.

"Honestly? The sex was amazing," I admitted and Lily smirked.

"I bet it was. The few centuries that I did spend with him, he was a bit of a man whore. I figured that he had to be good in bed if girls kept sleeping with him."

"If you were curious why didn't you ask Poppy?" Lily raised an eyebrow.

"What? Poppy and Klaus never-" she cut herself off and cursed.

"I'm stupid. Of course they have. That's why Poppy kidnapped you in first place, isn't it?" she asked and I nodded.

"She was jealous so she decided to burn me alive." I pushed my empty place aside before taking a deep breath.

"I wasn't completely honest about going to New York, Lily," I blurted out suddenly. "I de-daggered Elijah."

Lily sighed. "I figured as much."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Why didn't you try to stop me?" I asked her.

"Because Elijah is my friend and I think that he could help you kill Klaus," she answered.

"I have a deal with him. He's going help me kill his brother and I'm going to help him get his family back," I said.

"How are you going to do that?" Lily asked her eyes wide.

I shrugged. "With style and flare." I smirked at her.

Lily sighed and shook her head. "The messes you get yourself into Elizabeth…"

"Have you met all of the original vampires?" I asked her curiously.

"I never met Mikael and I'm glad that I haven't. From what I've been told he isn't a very pleasant man. All of his children are scared of him. I've spent a lot of time with Rebekah because she traveled with Elijah and Klaus. Kol is a flirt- he actually reminds me of Damon a bit. I've met Finn once. He absolutely hates what he is, what we are. I pitied him and his self-loathing. Really, they're a pretty dysfunctional family, and that's coming from the girl who had the most dysfunctional family in ancient France," Lily said.

"I can't wait to de-dagger them," I said sarcastically before frowning thoughtfully. "Do you think I'm stupid for trusting Elijah?"

Lily shook her head. "I trust Elijah," she said. "But I don't want to be there when you tell your brothers about your deal with him."

"I don't want to be there either. I also don't want to be there when Klaus finds out that Elijah's amongst the living again," I said.

"I think that I'm going to go find my old friend," Lily said, standing up.

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. "Lil, were you and Elijah ever more than friends?" I asked her bluntly.

Lily frowned at me. "Believe it or not Elizabeth, but a man and a woman can have a friendship without there being anything romantic tied to it," she told me.

I raised my hands. "Hey, just wondering. I wouldn't blame you if you did, though- he's hot." I smirked at her. "But if you leave my brother for him, I'll rip out your spleen."

She laughed humorlessly. "Thanks for the warning, Elizabeth," she said sarcastically before leaving me.

I frowned in concentration as I paid the bill. I was doing the right thing, killing Klaus. I had to be. _Jeremy, it's for Jeremy. _That was becoming my mantra.

It was all for Jeremy, to get him back. But Jeremy was with Mallory now. They could get married and have kids and grow old together. They could have something that I could never give Jeremy. Would it be selfish of me to take that all away from him?

_Mystic Falls, Virginia_

_1864_

_It was raining, down pouring on Mystic Falls. I watched the rain from the window of Klaus' house. I loved the rain. Klaus watched me curiously from a chair, his drawing pad in his lap. _

_Without another word, I stood up and walked out into the rain. I laughed out loud as it soaked my hair and dress. I spun around in a circle, not caring that I was sopping wet or that I looked crazy and stupid and childish. _

"_What are you doing, Elizabeth?" Klaus called from the doorway. He sounded amused- that man was amused by everything that I did. He had an eyebrow raised._

"_Dance with me," I demanded suddenly._

"_You are mad, Elizabeth." Klaus laughed._

"_Yes, I am. Now dance with the mad human in the rain," I said, wiping the water from my eyes._

_I didn't think that he would do it. I thought that he would roll his eyes and shut the door. But Klaus sighed before walking into the rain. His curls were soaked as he walked up to me and pulled me into his arms._

"_You are absolutely mad," he repeated as we slow danced in the rain. Thunder rumbled in the sky and lightning lit up the clouds._

"_You like it," I told him, grinning. I rested my head on his shoulder._

_Klaus just shook his head and laughed slightly. I frowned suddenly, three words I hadn't uttered to him in two weeks popping into my head._

"_I love you," I repeated, causing Klaus to stiffen. "Do not worry- I do not expect you to say it back. But I want you to know that someone does care about you, does love you. You may not have your family, but you have me. You'll always have me, Klaus."_

_Klaus closed his eyes and I stared meaningfully at him. He needed to hear that, I knew. His father never loved him. That was where all his problems stemmed from- his trust issues, his love issues. But I loved him and he believed that I did._

_He opened his eyes and kissed my wet forehead. "Thank you love," he told me affectionately. Then he kissed me, his mouth cool against my warm one. I liked to think that he did love me, he just couldn't admit it to himself, and that he had let someone in long enough to fall in love with him. That was weakness in Klaus' eyes, and he wasn't weak._

_I wanted to tell him that love wasn't weak, that it didn't make him weak to love me. I didn't, though. I just closed my eyes and settled for the soft, tender kiss in the rain._

_**~LMF~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, Katerina The Von, purpleXorchid, Pickle Paige, Paris101, and Lady Syndra for reviewing!

Reviews are inspiring!

~Abby :)


	44. wedding bells

**Chapter forty three**

Wedding bells

_Elizabeth_

It was very cloudy outside, not a ray of sun in the sky. That was why I was able to walk outside without my ring. I needed a new one, because being stuck inside during sunny days was going to become a real drag really fast.

I drove back home while Lily went to find her old friend Elijah. When I was walking up to the front door, a ray of sunlight suddenly broke through the wall of clouds in the sky and shined down directly on me. I howled out in pain as it burned my skin and quickly ran into the house.

"God, not having a ring is very inconvenient," I muttered to myself as I walked into the kitchen, careful to stay away from any windows.

I found Damon alone in the kitchen as I poured myself a glass of blood. he stared intently at me as I stuck the glass in the microwave to warm it up. "You're really okay with me and Lily?" he asked bluntly.

I nodded. "I mean, it's weird. You and Lily hooking up is really, really weird, but who am I to say that you two can't be together? It's not my place, not really," I said, drinking my blood.

"If it really bugged you, I wouldn't be with her, Lizzie," Damon told me honestly.

I smiled slightly at that. "But then I'd be the brat who broke her best friend and her brother up," I mused, sitting down at the table across from him.

He smirked at me. "Well, you've always been a brat, Lizzie," he teased, and I aimed a kick at him and missed.

"I'm okay with it, really. The only thing that bugged me was that you two hid it from me. but I did openly say that I didn't want you two together, so you had your reasons. Lily's good for you, Damon. I trust that she's not going to hurt you anymore than you've already been hurt. Now you just need to not mess it up." I smirked back at my brother.

He rolled his eyes. "You really don't have faith in me holding a decent relationship with Lily, do you Liz?" he asked.

"I have faith in that I'll rip out your liver if you hurt her," I replied sweetly, earning another eye roll.

"What's Lily to you, Damon? are you to just having meaningless sex or do you actually care about her?" I pushed.

"Do you really think that I would risk losing you if I didn't care about Lily?" Damon countered, standing up.

"I take that you do actually care about her?" I followed my brother out of the room and into the living room.

"Depends- are you asking as the best friend or the sister?" he retorted.

"Both."

Damon sighed. "Yes, I actually care about Lily, Elizabeth. Happy?" he asked sarcastically.

"Ecstatic," I replied dryly, before grinning. "I can't wait to tell her!" I said cheerfully, before something suddenly occurred to me.

"You know what I just realized? If you two got married, Lily would me my sister," I said, before my eyes widened and I beamed up at my brother. "You have to marry her, Damon! please? For me?

Damon groaned and covered his ears. "I'm not talking about _marriage _with you, Lizzie. It's way too soon. We can talk about it again in a century or two," he said, walking away.

"Fine, but I'm going to start planning your wedding anyway!" I called to him as he walked away. I grinned to myself as I got myself a glass of rum. Lily and Damon being together wasn't too bad. It distracted me from my deal with Elijah and the hard task of de-daggering his siblings without Klaus finding out.

I didn't know how I was going to do it, but I figured that I would have to tell my brothers about my deal before I actually did the deed. I wasn't looking forward to doing that. I didn't need to be psychic to predict that they were going to be pissed at me. I went behind their backs and de-daggered Elijah. I would've been mad too.

But it was my best shot at killing Klaus, and I was still convinced that I wanted that. just because Klaus rescued me from Poppy didn't mean anything. It was stupid, to even think about letting him in again. he cheated on me, broke my heart, and then killed me. if that wasn't a good enough reason to kill him, then adding Jeremy to that list made it good enough. It was all for Jeremy, though I was getting pretty sick of telling myself that.

_Lily_

Lily hadn't seen Elijah in centuries, but she still knew his habits, his style. Elijah wouldn't be out in the open where Klaus or one of his cronies could easily see him- not until he was ready for his brother to know that he was back. Elijah would be hiding out, most likely in an abandoned house. But the house would have to be somewhat classy, because this was Elijah, after all.

Lily found the exact kind of house on the outskirts of the town. She parked her car and then walked up to the door, only to find that it was under human ownership. Of course- Elijah was smart enough to have the house he was residing in being owned by a compelled human, so not just any vampire could get in.

Lily knocked and a middle aged woman answered the door. She looked sweet, a dazed look in her eyes. "May I help you?"

"Yes," Lily said, peering behind the woman, looking for her old friend. "May I see Elijah?"

The woman frowned. "I'm' sorry miss, there's no-"

"It's fine Berta, you may invite Miss Moreau in."

Lily grinned at the original, her silvery gray eyes lighting up. Despite himself, Elijah offered her a half smile, the only type of smile she had ever witnessed from Elijah. "You can come in," Berta told her, stepping aside.

"Thank you," Lily told the woman as she shuffled away. Lily walked into the house and shut the door behind her. "Elijah, it's good to see you," she told him honestly.

"It's a pleasure to see you too, Lilianna," he replied, always calm and collected. Lily loved and hated that about Elijah at the same time.

Without warning, Lily stepped closer and hugged her old friend. Her arms wrapped around his waist, wrinkling his clean suit that he always wore. Elijah was stiff in her arms, but eventually wrapped an arm around her shoulders, his version of a hug.

Lily pulled away from Elijah, a smile on her face. Being with him after centuries made her realize how much she had missed him. they had grown close during the time Lily and Poppy had spent with Klaus, Rebekah, and him. both of them were the "moral" siblings of two particularly sinful vampires, so it was no wonder that they were close friends.

"So, I hear from Elizabeth that you've roped her into helping you get your family back," Lily said casually as they moved to the living room of the house.

"We've made a deal- I will help her as soon as she helps me," Elijah replied.

"And you do possess of information of how to kill Klaus?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow.

He nodded. "No offense to you Lilianna, but I cannot tell you what I know. It would defeat the purposes of my deal with Elizabeth if I were to make my information common knowledge."

She nodded in understanding. "I would help you anyway, Elijah. We are friends, after all," she said with a small smile.

"I appreciate that, Lilianna," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching upward. Lily hated her full name Lilianna, but Elijah always insisted on calling her that, despite how much she despised the name.

"Now, would you mind catching me up on what I've missed?" Elijah asked, sitting down on a couch. Lily sat down next to him, before telling her old friend all about what he had missed.

_Elizabeth_

I was busy brainstorming ways to de-dagger Elijah's siblings, staring out the window and into the sun bitterly. The clouds had cleared it was bright and sunny outside. I hated being stuck inside- I would have to have Bonnie make me another daylight ring soon.

I knew that the coffins holding Kol, Finn, and Rebekah were somewhere in the mansion Klaus bought. I had to somehow have Klaus distracted while I de-daggered his siblings. Plus there were still all the hybrids roaming around town, not to forget Poppy who wanted my organs on a stick. I had a tough job ahead of me.

Lily walked in through the front door that moment, distracting me from my plotting. I grinned at my best friend and patted the spot next to me on the couch. Lily walked over and sat down next to me. "How'd did visiting Elijah go?" I asked her.

She smiled. "Good, I missed him," she admitted. I couldn't help but get defensive for my brother's sake- he had had enough women break his heart already. But I could tell by the look in Lily's eyes that Elijah was just her friend and she only cared for him in that way.

"He wants to meet with you and make a plan to de-dagger his siblings," Lily added. "I'm helping too."

"Great, your first job can be telling my brothers that I de-daggered Elijah," I told her, a slight smirk on my lips.

"I don't love you that much, Lizzie," Lily teased, though still completely serious.

"_what _did you do?"

My breath caught in my throat and I slowly turned around to face my brothers. Oh shit.

"Oops, didn't see you guys there," I said in a light tone, my eyes wide.

"_What did you do Elizabeth?" _Damon growled, his eyes narrowed.

I took a deep breath, bracing myself for what I was about to face from my brothers.

"I de-daggered Elijah."

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Paris101, Katerina The Von, thehoodedface, RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, Pickle Paige, and hidansgirl1234 for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	45. the family reunion

**Chapter forty four**

The family reunion

_Elizabeth_

Damon and Stefan stared blankly at me, while Lily sat silently next to me. After what had to be centuries, Damon finally spoke.

"I guess that burning yourself in the sun killed a lot of your brain cells," he said in a calm voice, though he was gritting his teeth.

"De-daggering Elijah was smart, Damon," I argued, standing up.

"Were you dropped on your head as a child? It's _not _smart, Elizabeth. We can't trust him," Damon insisted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"He betrayed you two for his family, Damon!" I exclaimed, narrowing my eyes. "I'd betray him if it meant saving you two! Can you honestly say that you wouldn't do the same?"

Damon didn't answer, and I smirked smugly. "Exactly, because you know you would."

"Elijah is a man of his word, Damon," Lily added, standing up. "That was the first time he ever went back on it, and I trust him not to do that again."

"That's right, you're _friends _with Elijah," Damon spat, turning his gaze onto Lily.

"I am," she said in a calm, even voice.

Damon didn't seem to like that. He turned back to face me. "Do you really think that he's going to help you kill his brother?" he asked his eyes dark.

I rolled my eyes. "We have a deal, Elijah and I. he knows of a way to kill Klaus, and he's going to tell me it when I help him. But do I trust Elijah to actually kill Klaus himself? Hell no," I said.

"What exactly is your deal with Elijah?" Stefan asked, speaking up for the first time.

I sighed- this was going to make them even more against my de-daggering of Elijah. "I have to help him de-dagger the rest of his siblings," I blurted out.

There was a pause as my brothers took in what I had told them. "Oh, so now we're getting the original family back together? That seems like a flawless plan," Damon said sarcastically.

I sighed again. "We have no other options, Damon!" I exclaimed. "I'm going to help Elijah get his brothers and sister back, and then he's going to help me kill Klaus. We both win. It's a good plan and our only plan."

"You forgot to factor in when Elijah betrays us again and then we all get our hearts ripped out by your hybrid ex," Damon said sarcastically, causing me to glare at him.

"It's our only option, Damon," Stefan said quietly, sighing.

Damon turned to face him, eyes wide. "You're not actually agreeing with Elizabeth, are you?" he asked him disbelievingly.

"I don't like it, but Elijah's our only hope of killing Klaus," Stefan said reasonably.

Damon just shook his head. "I can't believe any of you," he muttered before stalking off.

Lily sighed and watched him walk away, while I just turned to face my reasonable brother. I'd talk to Damon later.

"So," Stefan said, crossing his arms over his chest. "What do you need me to do?"

"Absolutely nothing."

His eyebrows shot up. "What?"

I sighed. "I don't want you and Damon caught up in my plot to de-dagger the rest of the original family. I don't want Lily caught up in it either," I said, turning to my best friend.

She frowned at me. "Why not?"

"Because if Klaus ever finds out that I de-daggered Elijah and company, he's going to kill me. If he finds out that you guys had anything to do with it, he's going to kill you three too, and I can't let that happen," I explained.

"Elizabeth-" Stefan started to say, but I cut him off.

"No, it's not up for discussion. I'm already in too deep, but I'll be damned if I let you guys get hurt. Just let me and Elijah take care of the plot to de-dagger his siblings, okay?" I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

Lily and Stefan both sighed but nodded. "Good," I said, before turning around and walking up to my room. I had a family reunion to plan.

_**~LG~**_

"It's very simple, Elizabeth. You distract Niklaus while I get my brothers and sister."

Elijah and I were at the house he had taken up residence in, plotting the de-daggering of his siblings. It was just us, and I was glad that Lily and Stefan had listened to me. Damon was still pissed that I de-daggered Elijah in the first place.

"Easy enough," I said, pushing a lock of hair behind my ear. All I needed was a corset and a short skirt. "How long do you need?"

"I don't know, an hour maybe," he said, and I bit my lip.

"I'll try my best, but I'll text you to get out when he leaves the bar. We don't want Klaus knowing that you're back until you have your family back," I said, and Elijah nodded.

"I'll let you know when I find my family," Elijah said, before standing up. He went to the mansion Klaus was living in while I got ready to distract Klaus.

I dressed in simple skinny jeans and a red corset. It was revealing, but if I dressed too slutty Klaus would know that something was up. I drove to the Grill and waited for Klaus to show up. I drank a shot of whiskey while waiting, hoping that it would relax me.

"How are you this evening?"

I took a deep breath as Klaus sat down next to me. _You just have to distract him, _I told myself. That wouldn't be too hard. I just had to play hard to get, because I knew that Klaus loved a good chase.

"I was doing good, then you showed up," I replied coolly, standing up. I grabbed my half empty drink and then walked away.

Like I had predicted, Klaus followed me. "Now is that any way to treat the man who saved your life?" he asked and I stopped walking.

"No, but it's a good way to treat the man who ended my life," I retorted, before tossing back the rest of my drink.

Klaus sighed. "Are you still upset about that? I killed you, but I knew that you were coming back."

"That's not the point," I said angrily. "The point is that you changed me against my will right after you cheated on me- and I know that it wasn't the first time."

His face darkened. "You were going to leave me, Elizabeth," he said quietly. "You were going to leave me when you promised that you never would."

I bit my lip, remembering my promise. "Well, you broke my heart," I muttered.

"And you broke your promise," he countered.

I glared at him. "Did you just keep me around because you didn't want to be alone?" I asked him. I was starting to get distracted from my mission, but as long as I kept Klaus busy, I was okay.

Klaus rolled his blue eyes. "Elizabeth, if I wanted company, I didn't need to go to a stubborn, impulsive, pain in the arse human that needed to work on having a filter," he said.

"Then why did you keep me around, Klaus? Why didn't you kill me? You never told me that," I said, calmer now.

It took Klaus a while to answer. "Because… because you were vivacious and honest and beautiful. You were different, Elizabeth, so full of light. You still are all of those things. And even though I've told myself for centuries that I'm not capable of feeling, of caring, you made me care about you, and I've loathed you for it. I've also fancied you more because of it," he said finally.

My eyes widened slightly at the outburst, the wall of ice around my heart melting. Still, I shook my head. "Stop it, okay?" I said firmly, backing away from him.

"Stop what?" Klaus asked, following me. We were repeating our conversation from the night when he saved me from Poppy.

"You're Klaus the Evil Hybrid, okay? Klaus the Evil Hybrid doesn't rescue people from his crazy exes. He doesn't draw them pictures or promise to keep them safe from said crazy ex. He doesn't call them sweet things, he doesn't admit to caring about them. Klaus the Evil Hybrid doesn't promise to take small town girls to see the world, or dance with them in the rain. And he sure as hell doesn't act like a sad, vulnerable, lonely _human. _Can you just stick to being Klaus the Evil Hybrid? Can you stick to being a soulless monster that murders innocents and doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself? Because it's so much easier to hate you when you do," I exclaimed, completely forgetting that I was distracting Klaus.

I turned around and walked away, walked out of the Grill. I heard Klaus sigh as I walked into the night. I expected him to follow me- not because Klaus loved the chase, but because Klaus always followed me after I walked away from him. It was a good and bad thing.

Still, when I turned around, expecting to see the original hybrid, he wasn't there. I caught a glimpse of Klaus walking out of the bar before he ran, I assumed, home. Just then, I remembered Elijah.

"Oh shit," I muttered, pulling out my phone. He answered on the second ring.

"You need to get out of there. Now," I told him bluntly.

"_Elizabeth, I just found where he's hiding them. I just need a few minutes," _Elijah told me, his voice calm.

"He already left, Elijah. Klaus is going to be there very, very soon. I'm sorry," I added when I realized that I had failed him.

"_Fine, let him come,"_ Elijah said, a hint of uncharacteristic stubbornness in his voice.

"Actually, stay there," I said as a plan formed in my head. It was a bad plan, a risky plan, a messy plan, but it was my only plan. "Prepare yourself for your reunion with your family."

_**~LG~**_

Thankfully, Elijah had killed most of Klaus' hybrids by the time I showed up at the giant mansion. I stood outside, listening to Klaus, who was upset about the attack on his hybrids. Elijah had yet to show himself.

Quietly, I made my way into the house through a back door. I listened carefully for Klaus, praying that the attack on his hybrids distracted him from hearing or smelling me. It must've, because he didn't appear in front of me, demanding to know why I was here. Elijah showed up in front of me instead.

We didn't talk. Instead, he pointed in the direction where his siblings were. I ran towards it without another word, knowing that I had only so little time. Elijah walked calmly and coolly towards his brother, and I knew that shit was about to go down.

I walked with light feet into a parlor where three coffins laid. Without beating around the bush, I ran to the first coffin and opened it to reveal a beautiful blonde girl around my age, wearing a dress from the 20's and looking very dead. A dagger matching the one I pulled from Elijah was sticking out of her chest.

Rebekah.

I sighed, knowing that, for some weird, shallow reason, Rebekah loathed me. It was going to be fun to see her again. Still, I yanked her dagger out with one hand and placed it next to her before closing her coffin quietly.

A loud crash echoed into the parlor and I knew that Elijah and Klaus had met again. I hurried up my pace, knowing that I didn't have much time left. I opened the next coffin to reveal a man around Elijah's age with long, curly black hair, a dagger in his heart too. He was dressed in very old clothes, maybe from the 12th century. He was Finn, I was sure of it.

I yanked his dagger out and then placed it next to him. I closed his coffin before moving to the final one, in which Kol lay. Kol was handsome, just like the rest of his siblings, and was dressed in clothes from either the late 1800's or early 1900's. Just like with Finn and Rebekah, I pulled out his dagger and left it in his coffin when I closed it.

I turned and ran out of the parlor, not wanting to witness the family reunion- original vampire style. It was sure to be a bloody one. Besides, my work was done. My side of the deal made with Elijah was complete. Now he just had to hold up his end.

_The original family_

"Hello Niklaus," Elijah said as he strolled into the same room his brother was in. "It's been a while."

Klaus paused, mid-tantrum. Klaus figured out that it was Elijah who had killed most of his hybrid army by the time he had turned around to face him.

"Elijah," he said, struggling to hold his composure together, though he was shocked that Elijah was standing in front of him. Last time he checked, Elijah had been in a warehouse in Tennessee.

"You look like you could use a drink, and I need one," Klaus said, ignoring the heartless bodies of his hybrids in the room.

Suddenly, Elijah threw Klaus out of the room, and he smashed into the railing of the staircase. He was up and attacking Elijah less than a second later.

As Klaus pinned Elijah against the wall by his neck, a familiar scent flitted past him for a few seconds. The scent was a mixture of vanilla and roses. It distracted him for a second, long enough for Elijah to break free from him.

Before Klaus could attack him again, he suddenly howled in pain as a dagger was shoved into his shoulder. Klaus yanked out the dagger just as another was put into his stomach. He fell to his knees, bleeding from his shoulder and stomach.

Klaus gritted his teeth in pain as one more dagger found its way into his throat. That pain was unbearable, and Klaus couldn't speak for a few moments while his vocal chords healed. As he let the dagger clatter to the floor next to the other two, he looked up and his blue eyes widened at what he saw.

Rebekah, Kol, and Finn all glared at him, standing next to Elijah. Their family was together again, and all of the original vampires were back on earth, undead and kicking.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **it's been almost a week since I last updated. I'm sorry- it's OOC for me, and I blame life. Before everyone starts to throw heavy objects at me because of the wait, let's all remember that Abby needs to be alive, in order to keep writing this story. Plus, I'm no CW, so I've got that going for me ;)

Thank you to: Pickle Paige, Katerina The Von, RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, and Lady Syndra for reviewing!

~Abby :D


	46. meet the family

**Chapter forty five**

Meet the family

_Elizabeth_

It had been three days since I had de-daggered the rest of the originals, and absolutely nothing had happened since. I was waiting for something to happen, for Klaus to burst into my room and rip my heart out, for the world to explode, _something, _but nothing happened. I didn't know if this was good or bad, but the silence from the original family was making me uneasy.

Maybe Elijah, Kol, Finn, and Rebekah had killed Klaus. It would of saved me a hell of a lot of trouble, but deep, deep down, I didn't like that thought. I didn't think that though, and didn't dare to speak it out loud. I knew that it was impossible that Klaus' siblings had killed him, so I was wondering what had happened.

"Did have you heard anything from Elijah yet?" I asked Lily, walking into her room. I instantly stopped walking when I saw what was going on in her bed.

"Oh my god, _really? _What is this, the hundredth time somebody's walked in on you guys? Seriously, you two are hornier than rabbits in spring," I muttered, turning my back on Damon and Lily, who were making out on her bed.

"We were just kissing, Elizabeth," Lily said defensively, sitting up and pushing Damon off of her.

"Tell that to Damon's hand up your shirt," I retorted, making a face. It wasn't even funny, how many times someone had walked in on Damon and Lily. I didn't know if it was because they were just cursed or because they were at it all the time. It made me sick.

"I swear, the next time I walk in on you two, I'm moving out," I threatened, finally turning around to face them.

"Fine, at least you won't be around to interrupt us," Damon told me, clearly annoyed that I kept walking in on him as well.

I narrowed my eyes at my big brother. "It's called a lock, Damon. maybe if you invested in one, you wouldn't keep being interrupted," I retorted, putting a hand on my hip. "Or, here's another idea, keep it in your pants, both of you."

"Enough you two," Lily said, smoothing down her hair. "No, I haven't heard anything from Elijah, Lizzie."

I sighed then turned towards the door. "For my birthday, I want you two to get a lock. It's the best present you could give anyone in this house," I said dryly, before walking out of the room and shutting the door behind me.

I would be turning 162 in a few days. I wasn't very excited, since I had had 161 birthdays before. But It was tradition that Lily and I go out and get wasted on my birthday, and I could use all the drinks I could get. Plus, it would be the first birthday I would be having with my brothers since I was 15, so I was a little excited.

"Hey," I said to Stefan as I joined him in the living room.

"Hey," he said, looking at me. "Did you walk in on Lily and Damon again?"

I sighed and shook my head. "I swear, I've never met a couple that has been walked in on so many times," I muttered, sitting down on a couch.

"At least they usually stick to bedrooms. Except for that one time I walked in on them on the couch-" I made a face and instantly jumped up.

"Gross! We need to burn this couch. Now," I said, causing Stefan to chuckle.

"I already did, Lizzie. That's the replacement couch," he told me, gesturing to it.

I took a deep breath and sat back down. "I need a drink," I said out loud, then turned to Stefan. "Want to go get drunk with your little sister?"

"As much fun as that sounds, I need to go pick up Elena," he said and I nodded in understanding.

"Is she caught up on everything?" I asked curiously. I was still a little bitter at Elena, since she was the person that had convinced me to break up with Jeremy.

Stefan nodded. "She misses you, you know. She feels bad, that you went ripper and then suicidal after your break up with Jeremy. She blames herself."

I sighed. "Tell her it's not her fault. I'll talk to Elena soon, once I figure out this whole original family mess I've gotten myself into."

Stefan nodded, and then we both left the boarding house. He went to get his girlfriend and I went to the Grill. I really did need a drink. The Grill was pretty busy, since it was a Saturday night. I walked straight up to the bar and ordered a rum and Coke.

"Aren't you a pretty little thing?"

I sighed. I wasn't in the mood to deal with guys hitting on me. I finished my drink and then turned around, expecting to see a creepy, drunk, middle aged man. but when I saw who was hitting on me, my heart stopped and my jaw dropped.

Kol.

I immediately recovered. He didn't know that I was the one who had de-daggered him, that I had a secret alliance with Elijah to kill Klaus. He probably didn't know that I was a vampire. He just saw a seemingly young girl and probably wanted to make a meal out of me.

"Well I am pretty adorable," I retorted, turning my back to him. like with Elijah, I was very aware that I was talking to an original that was very capable of ripping out my heart. It was funny, how the original hybrid's two brothers intimidated me more than him. if I ever told Klaus that, he'd probably kill me just to change my opinion.

"I won't argue with that," he said, sitting down next to me. I sighed and signaled for another drink.

"I don't mean to be rude, but the only company I want right now is my drink," I told him bluntly, earning a smirk.

"Aw, but I'm so much fun," he said, and I bit back a grin.

"And I'm a real party, but I'm not in the best mood right now. so if you wouldn't mind…" I turned my back to him and took my drink from the bartender.

"Actually, I do mind," he said and I frowned. Original vampire or not, he was starting to get annoying.

"Listen dude, I'm not ending up in your bed tonight. End of story," I told him bluntly, turning back to Kol.

"We don't have to end up in my bed, love. I'm flexible." Kol smirked and ran his eyes down my body. "I bet you are too."

I rolled my eyes and stood up. "Wouldn't you like to know?" I retorted, before turning around and running right into a familiar chest.

"I already know, love. You're very flexible."

I closed my eyes and gave myself half a second to prepare myself. I had to act normal, not like I had de-daggered Klaus' entire family. I doubted that he knew, anyway. If he did, my heart wouldn't still be in my chest.

"Is my brother bothering you, Elizabeth?" Klaus asked as I opened my eyes again and took a deep breath. I stepped away from both original brothers, keeping the door within my line of sight.

Kol rolled his eyes. "We were just talking Nik, relax," he said easily. There was an almost tangible tension between the two, as I was sure there was between Klaus and all of his siblings. He had killed them, after all.

"Don't worry Kol, Nik is just protective of his little toy. I don't understand why, though. She really is nothing special."

Oh god. The only thing that could make this situation worse was if Jeremy and his new girlfriend walked into the bar at that moment. I really did pick the wrong time to drown out my sorrows with alcohol.

Rebekah joined her brothers at the bar, glaring at me. it still didn't occur to me why she hated me so much. So I stole her meal back in 1921. Was that really enough to get her to loath me? there had to be more to her hate.

Klaus glared at his younger sister while Kol rolled his eyes. "No need to be jealous of younger, prettier girls, Bekah. Jealousy really doesn't suit you, makes you look even older than you already are," he told his sister with a smirk.

Rebekah glared at Kol and made to hit him. he dodged the hit and looked amused at his sister's anger. Every instinct I had told me to get the hell out of dodge, so I turned and walked away from the original siblings as fast as I could.

"Elizabeth," Klaus called to me. I ignored him and kept putting distance between me and three vampires who were very capable of killing me.

Klaus sighed and glared at his siblings before following me. I walked to the farthest booth away from the bar and sat down. Klaus sat down across from me and I sighed.

"I apologize for Rebekah. Her shallowness really holds no boundaries," he said as I finished my drink and set it down on the table.

I shrugged and pushed my hair out of my face. "So, your family's back. or at least Rebekah and Kol," I blurted out, stating the obvious. I decided that avoiding the obvious truth would make me seem more suspicious, since I knew that Klaus had daggered his family.

"No, my entire family is back," Klaus said, his mood darkening. I bit my lip, regretting bringing the topic up. But it was too late now.

"Did you de-dagger them?" I asked dumbly, hoping that I was somewhat of a good actress.

Klaus shook his head slightly. "Elijah did," he said through gritted teeth. I was glad that he sounded like he actually believed that. I was a little surprised that Elijah had lied, but was again happy that he was protecting me.

"Who de-daggered Elijah?" I asked, feeling more comfortable.

"That's what I would like to know," he muttered, more to himself than to me. then he shook his head slightly again, as if to clear his head, and looked back up at me. "Ignore my siblings, Elizabeth. Finn and Elijah won't bother you, but I cannot say the same for Rebekah and Kol."

I shrugged, my heart melting a little bit at the surprising tenderness in his tone when he talked about his family. He had a very hard way of showing it, but in his own twisted way, Klaus really did care about his family. He just didn't want to be alone, and, one by one, they all left him throughout the centuries. His family really was Klaus' only weakness.

I was touched at the obvious protectiveness he held over me- mostly possessiveness, but a little protectiveness too, enough to want his family to stay away from me, because he knew that they could kill me, and that Rebekah wanted too.

"I can handle Kol," I said, pushing my dark hair out of my face. "He's no worse than a handsy frat guy."

"Hey, I take offense to that!" Kol called from the bar, as he and Rebekah could hear every word of our conversation. "I do not know what a 'frat guy' is, but I doubt that it is anything good."

I smirked at that and Klaus chuckled. "A frat guy who's first and only love is his reflection," Klaus agreed.

"Well at least it's easy to get him presents for birthdays and holidays- just get him a mirror," I teased, causing Klaus to chuckle again.

Kol pouted at us. "You two are mean," he told us.

I laughed slightly, before catching myself. I had to tread very lightly around all the originals. Teasing one about being arrogant could very likely end with my heart in his hand, whether his brother claimed to care about me or not.

"I have to go," I said bluntly, standing up.

"Aw, don't be like that, love," Klaus said, standing up with me. "We were bonding."

Another reason why I had to get the hell out of the Grill. I couldn't bond with the man I was plotting the murder of, the same man who was keeping me from the guy I truly did love.

"I thought that I told you not to call me 'love,'" I muttered, before turning around and heading towards the door.

Suddenly, the doors to the Grill opened to reveal the last two people I wanted to see. Jeremy and Mallory were lost in their own romantic world, giggling and murmuring sweet, loving things to each other. I stiffened at the sight of them, ice cold pain running through me, followed by searing jealousy. The only thing that kept me from ripping out Mallory's throat at that moment was my self-control, just strong enough to hold me back.

"It doesn't feel very good, does it?" Klaus murmured in my ear as Jeremy and Mallory walked past us to a table.

My eyes were glued on the couple. "It feels like he ripped out my heart and then stomped on it," I whispered, suddenly hating Jeremy for causing me this pain. It wasn't his fault, though. He had been compelled not to love me.

"Well, karma is a bitch, Elizabeth," Klaus said, and I closed my eyes. it was all too much. The original vampires, my plotting to kill Klaus, Jeremy and Mallory, and now Klaus hinting that I had put him through the same pain I was going through. Not one vampire could process it all at once.

I pulled away from Klaus and made my way to the bar. I knew one way to battle the pain, to battle thinking. Getting drunk seemed to be the solution to all of my problems lately. I was lucky that vampires couldn't get alcohol poisoning.

I grabbed a random battle from behind the bar, ignoring the three original vampires who were looking at me. "Hey, you can't do-" the bartender started to say, but I met his gray eyes with my blue ones.

"Go away," I compelled him, before opening my bottle and taking a long swig. The whiskey burned my throat, but it distracted me from the pain in my heart.

I heard Rebekah scoff. "So trashy," she muttered as I drank straight from my bottle. When I pulled my bottle away, I smirked at her. it was a stupid thing, egging on an original, but I trusted that Klaus' possessiveness of me would keep me alive. I blamed the alcohol.

I turned and walked away from the bar, still drinking from my bottle. I wasn't sure where my destination was, but I knew that staying away from the originals, my ex and his new girlfriend seemed like a good plan. Unfortunately, Jeremy caught sight of me.

"Elizabeth," he said, smiling at me. his arm was slung around Mallory's shoulders, and my grip on my bottle tightened. "It's been a while. Do you want to join us?"

Mallory looked like the last thing she wanted was her boyfriend's ex to join them on date night, but she covered her thoughts with a sweet smile and nodded. "Yeah Elizabeth, it'd be fun."

"Honestly? I'd rather chew my arm off, but thanks for the offer," I blurted out, the strong alcohol already clouding up my mind.

I walked away from the gaping couple, and made my way to an empty pool table. Klaus seemed to disappear, and I was glad. Drunk Elizabeth didn't mix well with Klaus, so I was learning. I could only guess that he was dealing with Hybrids and the business of making more, since Elijah had killed most of his.

I leaned against the pool table for support. I was getting drunk fast. I could see Rebekah flirting at the bar, obviously planning to make her victim her next meal. Kol wasn't next to his sister though.

"Not only are you a vampire who my brother is obsessing over and who angers my sister, but you're an alcoholic with an attitude. I knew there was a reason I liked you."

I sighed. I should just call Damon, Lily, or Stefan to come pick me up before I did something stupid. Kol smirked at me as I took a swig from my bottle. He was hot, I had to admit it. The original family had good genes.

"I get why Nik fancies you, though. I too have a soft spot for feisty little things," Kol continued. I rolled my eyes at him.

"You don't know how to take a hint, do you? I'm not going to sleep with you, Kol. Not now, not ever," I told him bluntly, frowning at him.

Kol sighed. "It's because you fancy Nik too, isn't it? I mean, from what Rebekah tells me, you two have a history."

My eyes widened. "No! I mean, yes, we do have a history. But no, I don't 'fancy' Klaus. Hate his guts is more like it," I said quickly, running my hands over the cool glass of the bottle in my hands.

Kol smirked at me. "Join the club, sweetheart. He killed me, what did he do to you?"

"Made me fall in love with him, cheated on me, shattered my heart into a million pieces, and then killed me, in that order," I said.

"Ooh, so you _do _fancy him," Kol said, his smirk growing.

I frowned. "No, not presently. I used to, 146 years ago. But it's funny, how death changes things," I muttered, setting my bottle down on the pool table.

Kol leaned into me suddenly, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. I stiffened as his nose skimmed my jaw. "Vanilla and roses…" he muttered to himself, before pulling away. He suddenly looked very serious. "Why is your scent so familiar to me, Elizabeth?"

I shrugged. "I don't know," I mumbled, though the alcohol seriously damaged my lying skills.

"No, you do know. Elijah said that he brought us back, but that isn't the case, is it? He had help. And I bet that the same person who helped him was the same person who brought him back. why is your scent all over the coffins that contained my family for centuries? Why would you help Elijah? Why would Elijah lie to us to protect you?" Kol asked, his eyes narrowed.

I gulped slightly. He was smarter than most gave him credit for. "You'll never know," I whispered again, repeating my earlier words. I grabbed my bottle and started to walk away from the original. But Kol grabbed my arm in a tight, painful grip.

"Tell me _now, _Elizabeth," he growled, his grip bruising. I gritted my teeth against the pain.

Suddenly, I was yanked away from Kol and into a warm, familiar chest. "You ever touch her again and I'll rip out your heart, Kol," Klaus growled at his brother.

Kol glared his brother. For one fearful second, I feared that Kol would tell his brother about my scent being all over the coffins and of my questioning relationship with Elijah. But Kol remained quiet and walked away. I saw him walk towards a pretty blonde and was sure that her obituary would show up in the paper soon.

"Are you alright?" Klaus asked me, and I pulled away from him.

I nodded. "I'll heal," I said, my bruises already starting to heal. I shrugged and took a long sip from my bottle.

I looked at Mallory and Jeremy again, to see them locked in a lover's embrace. My stomach sunk as my fear that Kol was figuring out that I had de-daggered him and his family mixed with my heartache over Jeremy. The result caused me to drink even more.

"I think you might want to slow down there, Elizabeth," Klaus said, frowning slightly as I almost finished the bottle of whiskey.

I glared at him when he tried to take my bottle away. "No, go away," I muttered, before walking outside. unfortunately, Klaus followed me.

"That boy is a fool, to choose that girl over you," Klaus said as the cool night air blew around me. I hoped that it would sober me up, but it didn't.

"He was compelled to forget that we loved each other," I mumbled, staring up at the sky.

"That's no excuse."

I smiled slightly before glaring. I turned around and glared angrily at Klaus before throwing my bottle at him. he dodged it and it smashed against the ground.

"It's your fault!" I yelled into the silent night. "It's your fault that I had to compel Jeremy in the first place. God, everything is your fault."

"Calm down!" Klaus shouted, before suddenly appearing in front of me. "Calm down Elizabeth," he repeated, calmer this time, taking my face in his hands.

I took a deep breath, feeling my emotions shift drastically again. Without another word, I leaned up and kissed Klaus. His mouth was warm against mine, and I kissed him harder.

Klaus frowned against my lips and pulled away. "Come on," I mumbled, reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck. "Just kiss me."

"No," Klaus said, looking as if it took all of his strength to. He pulled away from me, and pinned my arms against my sides.

"Aw, come on Klaus. I thought you wanted me?" I asked, frowning at him. I just wanted Klaus at that moment. I wanted him to make me forget about all of my other problems.

"And I'll have you Elizabeth, but not like this. When you finally do give in, you won't be intoxicated. It'll be real," he assured me, before kissing my forehead.

"Klaus-" I tried to argue, but he was already gone.

_Rebekah_

Rebekah glared at Klaus as he followed Elizabeth out of the bar. He didn't get what was so damn special about Elizabeth Salvatore. Even Kol seemed to want her, though he looked about ready to compel some information out of her a few minutes ago.

"What makes her so bloody special?" she muttered to herself, grabbing another drink.

"I wish I knew, Bekah."

Rebekah grinned at that familiar voice. "Poppy!" she exclaimed, turning to face the blonde.

Poppy grinned back, but her eyes darted around the room, looking for Klaus. If he found her, he'd kill her for sure. "I see you met Elizabeth freaking Salvatore," Poppy said, sitting down next to her old friend.

Rebekah frowned. "Yes, and I'd love to rip her head off," she muttered, taking a sip of her drink.

Poppy smirked. "That's exactly what I want to hear. Do you want to help me rid ourselves of Elizabeth Salvatore for good, Bekah?"

Rebekah didn't even need to think. "Yes."

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Katerina The Von, Lady Syndra, Paris101, RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, and thehoodedface for reviewing!

Review!

~A very exhausted Abby :)


	47. birthday wishes

**Chapter forty six**

Birthday wishes

_Elizabeth_

"'_Happy birthday to you!_

_Happy birthday to you!_

_Happy birthday dear Lizzie!_

_Happy birthday to you!'"_

I groaned and sat up. I rubbed my eyes to see Lily grinning at me, holding chocolate chip pancakes with number candles stuck in them. The numbers were big, tacky, and pink. '162' were the numbers and I smirked slightly. I'm glad that she went with the number candles, or else she might've started a fire, lighting up 162 individual candles.

"Lily, I thought I said no waking me up to sing to me, especially since you're tone deaf," I said, despite grinning at my birthday pancakes.

Lily frowned. "First of all, I'm an amazing singer. Second, it's ten-fifteen. I waited for your 'wake Elizabeth up before ten and die' rule."

"I love you Lil, but you're pitchy." I smirked at her.

"Oh, shut up and blow out your candles."

I laughed and took the pancakes from her. I frowned, thinking of a wish. Lily sighed, knowing how seriously I took my birthday wish. I thought that the most obvious wish would be to get Jeremy back, but I felt like being selfless with my wish.

_I wish for Lily and Damon to realize how madly in love they are with each other, and to be together forever, and that Stefan and I'll never walk in on them again, _I thought. So it was a mostly selfless wish. I wanted my brother and best friend to be happy, I just didn't want to see it.

"What'd you wish for?" Lily asked as she plucked off the used candles. She always asked and I never told her.

"I'm not telling you- the wish won't work then," I said stubbornly. "Now go get a fork so you can help me eat my birthday pancakes."

Lily already had a fork, and she sat with her legs crossed in front of me, the pancakes on a pillow between us. We dug in silently, eating my birthday pancakes together another tradition of ours.

"Your wishes never work anyway, Lizzie," Lily argued as I shoved a mouthful of chocolate goodness into my mouth.

"Really? Because I've wished for my brothers for the past eighty years and now I finally got them back," I said smugly.

"So now you know that your wish will come true in eighty years," Lily retorted.

"Oh god, I hope not." I made a face. I would kill myself before I had to go through eighty years of walking in on Lily and Damon. that'd be my hell on earth.

"What'd you wish for?" Lily whined and I sighed.

"Fine, I'll tell you. I wished for you and Damon to realize how madly in love you two are, and to be together forever. Oh, and for me and Stefan to stop walking in on you two." I smirked as Lily blushed like crazy.

"That's, like, three wishes, Lizzie," she muttered to distract from the fact that I had just accused her and Damon of being in love.

My smirk changed into a frown and I allowed for the obvious change in subject. "No, they're joint wishes. It still counts," I argued.

"No it doesn't! you get _one _wish, just one!" she argued back, her eyes narrowed.

My blue eyes narrowed back at her silvery gray ones. "Fine, then I hope that the one about never waking in on you two doing it comes true," I retorted, before eating the last of the pancakes.

Lily took the dirty plate and stood up. "I'm going to go get your present ready, okay? Oh, and just so you know, Damon had nothing to do with it. He spaced and forgot about getting you a present, so he wanted to sign his name on my card. Again, this is just from me," she told me, and I laughed slightly. What a Damon thing to do.

While Lily went to get me my present, I took a shower and got dressed in a blue dress that went to my knees. While I was putting on makeup, Damon walked into my room.

"Lily told me that you were trying to piggyback on her gift," I told him with an amused smile. "Are you really too cheap to get me your own present? It's not like we're rich or anything," I added sarcastically.

"I only said that to make you think that I spaced and forgot about your birthday," he replied with a smirk. "It's all about strategy, Lizzie."

I laughed slightly and turned around to face Damon. "Okay, then where's my present? I'm expecting it to be pretty awesome now."

Damon smirked and handed me a small pink bag. None too gently, I dumped the bag onto my bed and searched through the tissue paper for my present. My hand grasped a metal object with things hanging off of it. I gasped slightly and opened my hand to reveal a very old charm bracelet.

"No way," I whispered. "How'd you get this? I thought it was gone forever."

Damon smiled slightly. "When Stefan and I ran after you the night of the roundups, I found it on the ground. I'm surprised that I managed to hold onto it after I was shot, but I did."

The charm bracelet was about 157 years old, and full of tinkering charms. It was one of my prized possessions as a human. When I was ten, Damon and Stefan got it for me for my birthday. Then every holiday and birthday following that, they added a charm. I had lost it the night of the vampire roundups, and I thought that I would never see it again.

"Thank you, so much," I murmured, hugging him tightly. Damon hugged me back.

"I remember the day you were born," Damon murmured after I let go of him. "I was seven and Stefan was two. I so wanted you to be a boy, and when dad told us that I had a little sister, I got super pissed off and wanted to trade you for a brother."

"Gee, thanks," I said sarcastically, frowning.

"Stefan liked you, though. He held you and thought that you were the coolest thing ever. I didn't like you, though. You cried all the time, and everyone's time and attention was focused on you. It was worse than when Stefan was born. What little attention I had before was now focused on you. I tried to give you away when you were a few weeks old, but mom caught me," he continued.

"Wow, when did you start liking me?" I asked. I always thought that my brothers loved me from the start, but, apparently, that wasn't the case.

"You were one," Damon said after thinking hard.

"That long?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, you were annoying as hell, Lizzie. even worse than Stefan. You followed me around everywhere and always wanted me. it's like you sensed that I didn't like you, so you were bugging me because of it," Damon defended himself.

"Yeah, that sounds like something I'd do," I murmured, before frowning. "Eventually you started to love me, right?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "I always _loved _you, Lizzie. I just didn't like you very much," he said like I was stupid.

"Well, that doesn't make any sense," I told him, still frowning.

"A few weeks after you turned one, I decided to give you a chance- because I was told that if I didn't, I'd be punished severely. You probably thought that you were the coolest thing ever, having your two big brothers hang around you. Stefan doted on you, but I didn't really see what was so cool about you. It was the little things at first, that made me start to like you. You hated people crowding you and only really liked Stefan and I to hang around you. You were stubborn, even as a baby- if Stefan didn't give you the toy you wanted, you would just sit down on the ground and not do anything. It terrified our parents and I thought it was pretty hilarious.

"The thing that probably made me so protective of you was the first time you became really sick. Everyone was scared that you might not make it, and even I was a little worried. You only wanted me, and after hearing you cry for an hour, I gave in and held you. You stopped crying and just stared up at me. after a while, you touched my face and said my name- your first word. Then you fell asleep, and in the next few days, you got better. But that was when I became overly protective of you. So, you can blame yourself for that one, Lizzie." Damon smirked when he finished his story.

I smiled slightly. I never knew any of this. "Well, I'm glad that you got over yourself and started to love me," I mumbled.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Elizabeth, you may have been an obnoxious baby who was an attention whore-" I glared daggers at him. "-but you were still my little sister. I loved you, I just didn't like you very much."

I shook my head. "That still doesn't make any sense."

"You don't have to _like _family, but it's ingrained in you to love them," he said simply, before hugging me again and kissing my forehead. "Happy birthday, Lizzie," he murmured before leaving.

I was still frowning from Damon's story when Stefan walked into my room. "Happy birthday." He smiled and pulled me into a hug.

"Thanks," I muttered. "Did you know that Damon didn't like me at first?"

"Yeah, because you were a girl, you cried a lot, and were given all of the attention. Don't worry though, he was always protective of you. Damon may have tried to give you away a handful of times, but whenever you were in any danger, he worried himself sick. He only started to realize it when you got a really bad fever and said his name. it was your first word, you know. You said mine right after," he said.

I smiled slightly. "I know. I called you 'Steffy' until I turned eight."

Stefan smiled too. "Here, Lizzie," he said, handing me a small bag. I dumped it out onto my bed, like I had with Damon's present. I gasped when I found a beautiful ring, probably from the 1800's. it was even prettier than my old daylight ring.

"It's practical too. I got Bonnie to cast that daylight spell on it, so you have a new daylight ring," he said, and I beamed.

"Yes! Thank you!" I said, hugging him tightly. Not having a daylight ring was becoming a drag and fast. I slid the ring on after I had let go of Stefan.

"You're welcome, Lizzie." He grinned, just as Lily flitted back into the room, carrying a clothing bag tossed over her arm.

"I'll let you have her now," Stefan said before leaving the room. I clasped the charm bracelet around my wrist as Lily handed me the bag. I noticed that there was a big, multicolored bow on the front.

"Happy 162nd, Lizzie," Lily said, beaming. I unzipped the bag and gasped loudly.

"No. way," I said, my blue eyes wide.

Lily looked very smug with herself as I ran a hand over the pretty, silk fabric of the dress. "You didn't, Lily," I breathed.

"I did," she said, grinning at my reaction.

"Lilianna, it must've cost you a small fortune!" I scolded, frowning at my friend.

She shrugged. "Lizzie, I've been alive for over nine centuries. I've had many fortunes- hell, I ruled a small kingdom once."

My eyebrows shot up. "Queen Lily," I murmured to myself, looking back down at the dress.

She giggled. "I was more of a princess than a queen, Lizzie. Doesn't matter though, my kingdom crumpled to the ground." Lily shrugged again before looking at the dress too. "You like it though, right?"

"Like it?" I scoffed. "Lily, I'd marry this dress if I could- its way out of my league, though."

She laughed. "You try it on while I go get the matching shoes," she said, walking towards the door.

I groaned. "Lily, this is too much," I said, though I'd sew myself to this dress before I gave it up.

"Elizabeth, don't worry about it, okay? You deserve a treat, with everything that's going on right now. You can make it up to me for my birthday in a few months," Lily soothed me before walking out of my room.

"Even if I bought you France it still wouldn't make up for this dress," I muttered, earning a distant chuckle. I took the dress out of its bag, careful not to damage it in any way. Slowly, I slipped it on, the silky fabric feeling heavenly against my skin.

The dress was a deep blue, bringing out my eyes even more. It went to my knees and was strapless. It was simple and elegant yet not too dressy, so I could wear it almost anywhere. It accented my curves and my chest, but wasn't slutty in the slightest. It was the most perfect dress ever invented, and I had been lusting after it ever since I had set my eyes on it a few months ago. It was a one of a kind, made in Paris, but cost a small fortune. I could only imagine how much money it had cost Lily, since she wasn't dishonest enough to steal it.

This birthday was turning into the best one ever.

_**~LG~**_

"Okay Birthday Girl, you go get a table and we'll go get your birthday shots."

"Fine, but if I catch you two making out, you're getting banned from my birthday party," I told Lily and Damon, as Stefan and I walked away to get a booth at the Grill.

Damon just rolled his eyes and carelessly threw an arm around Lily's shoulder. She leaned into him, and they walked away to get our shots. We were out celebrating my birthday- which meant getting drunk. I was looking out for Klaus, because I didn't think that I could face him. I kissed him, the last time I saw him. if Klaus hadn't stopped me, I'm sure that we would've ended up sleeping together. I knew that I was drunk, but Klaus would still spin it to make it look like I still loved him.

Stefan and I grabbed a table near the pool table, and I basked in the looks I was getting from guys. I was wearing knee-high black leather boots that went with my dress. I wore a matching leather jacket and my hair was in curls. I also wore my ring, and my charm bracelet tinkled as I walked.

Stefan glared at the guys who were checking me out, and I grinned up at him. "Play pool with me, Steffy?" I teased.

"Why would you want to play pool? You suck," Damon said, returning with Lily, carrying shots.

I glared up at him. "I do not!" I argued, before turning to Lily for support. "Do I?"

Lily bit her lip. "You're _so _pretty," she said, offering me a sad smile.

I glared at them all and did a shot. I slammed the shot glass down and grabbed a pool stick. "I'll show you all, I'm awesome at pool," I said stubbornly. "Lily, you're on my team."

Lily sighed, but, being the loyal friend she was, she walked over to my side. I shot my brothers looks. "And no going easy on me because it's my birthday," I told them.

Stefan sighed, but Damon smirked at me. "Fine, Lizzie. But no bitching about it later," he told me.

I smirked at Damon, the shot already giving me a buzz. "Why would you feel bad about beating me on my birthday, Damon? you did hate me for the first year of my life, anyway."

"I didn't _hate _you, Lizzie," he corrected me as Lily frowned at him. "I just didn't like you very much."

I did another shot and went for a third, but Lily stopped me. "Let's slow down there, Lizzie. It's only seven o'clock anyway," she said.

With my buzz, I started to play pool with Lily on my team, playing against my brothers. Lily was good at pool, but not even she could make up for how much I sucked at it. After three games, all of which Lily and I had lost, I was half-drunk and bitter.

"How could you beat me on my _birthday?" _I whined, frowning at Damon. he rolled his eyes.

"No bitching Elizabeth, remember?" he said, taking away my half-finished rum and coke.

"Well, you _do _hate me, after all," I muttered, sitting down at our table.

"I never should've told you that," he sighed, before taking away the bottle of whiskey I reached for. "And you're cut off."

I gaped up at him. "You can't cut a vampire off on her birthday!" I exclaimed, my eyes big.

Lily and Stefan returned to our table, and Lily handed me a mug. "Damon doesn't like me," I told them solemnly. "First he beats me in pool on my birthday, and then he cuts me off." I took a sip from the mug and wrinkled my nose.

"That's not rum!" I exclaimed, pushing the mug away and crossing my arms over my chest like a child.

"That's because it's coffee, Lizzie," Lily explained. "We need to sober you up a bit."

I sighed and drank the coffee again. It did sober me up, enough to stop saying that Damon didn't like me. "Besides, I'm sleeping with Damon and he still beat me," Lily added, causing my nose to wrinkle in disgust.

Damon smirked at her. "Well, allow me to make it up to you, Lil," he said, before pulling her into his arms and kissing her.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, kicking them. "No kissing! This is your first warning, two more and you're kicked out of my party."

I sighed and looked up at Stefan. "Go to the bar with me?" I asked him. I needed to get away from the grossly affectionate couple.

He nodded. "But you're going to slow down on the drinking, okay Liz?" he said in a stern voice.

I sighed but nodded, and we walked to the bar, leaving Damon and Lily to kiss in peace. I ordered a plain coke to start off with, and eventually Stefan ordered me rum. Ten minutes later, he walked off to make a call to Elena, and I sat at the bar by myself.

"Happy birthday, love."

I stiffened at the voice, as Klaus sat down next to me. "It was, and then you joined me," I muttered, throwing back the rest of my drink.

"You know, you complain about me giving you emotional whiplash, yet here you are with your mixed signals. One night you're telling me to go away, the next you're kissing me-"

"Shh!" I exclaimed, covering his mouth with my hand. "I don't want my family to know that! I was drunk and in pain, it doesn't count."

Klaus shrugged and I removed my hand. "Whatever makes you feel better, love. Like they say, denial isn't just a river." I glared at him.

"Can you just let me be? For my birthday present, can you just leave me alone," I muttered, turning away from him.

"Well, that means I'm going to have to return this one…"

I turned back around and raised an eyebrow. "You got me something?" I asked, suspicious.

He nodded and passed me a very old fashioned jewelry box, the black velvet thick with dust. It looked like he had stored it away for a long time. "Did you steal it?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "No, I actually paid for it out of my own pocket."

My eyebrows were furrowed as I opened the box. I gasped suddenly at what I saw inside. It was a very familiar necklace. Just like the dress I was wearing, I had spent a good chunk of my time lusting after it.

_Atlanta, Georgia_

_1951_

_Lily! Look here!" I exclaimed, pointing to a window of a jewelry store. Displayed was a beautiful silver locket, a simple sapphire stone in the center. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen._

"_It's very pretty," Lily agreed, then looked at the price. "Elizabeth, it's very, very expensive."_

"_I don't care," I said shortly, hell bent on owning the necklace. Then I looked at the price myself and my eyes widened. "I could buy an island for less money."_

"_I'm' sorry Lizzie, we don't have the money right now," Lily said sadly._

"_But…" I frowned at the beautiful necklace. I sighed._

"_Fine," I muttered, before walking away. It would do no good to taunt myself by staring at it some more. I swore to myself that I would come back for that necklace._

But when I managed to get the money and went back to the store, it was gone. "You," I whispered. "You bought the necklace. For me?"

Klaus smiled in response.

_Klaus watched Elizabeth and Lilianna walk away, then he took her place at the window. he knew that she desired that necklace, and he wanted to get it for her. without even a thought about the price, he walked into the store._

"_That necklace at the window," he requested, pulling out his wallet._

"_Sir, it's very expensive," the owner told him with a small frown._

_Klaus looked up at the human. If Elizabeth wanted the necklace, she was going to get it. "Your point?"_

_The owner quickly went to get him the necklace. Klaus didn't even flinch at the price. Buying that necklace was the first selfless thing he had done in a long time –if ever. He hadn't done it in an attempt to win Elizabeth's heart back, he did it because he genuinely wanted her to be happy._

I narrowed my eyes at Klaus. "Is this some attempt to woo me?" I asked, trying desperately not to look at the necklace.

He shook his head. "No. believe it or not, I bought you the necklace with no ulterior motive in mind."

"I choose not to believe it," I told him bluntly.

Klaus sighed, just as his phone went off. he checked it and sighed again. "I must take this, love," he told me before kissing my head. "Happy birthday."

I frowned as I watched him leave. I so desperately wanted to put the necklace on- it would go wonderfully with my dress- but that might cause Klaus to get all smug and think that I'm admitting my feelings for him.

After staring at the necklace for a while, I sighed and gave into the temptation. "Screw it," I muttered. "It's too pretty to pass up."

I put on the locket, and then walked back to Lily and Damon. Stefan had joined them. "Can we go home?" I asked them.

Damon eyed the necklace around my neck. "Where'd that come from?" he asked.

I clutched the locket in my hand. "Nowhere," I mumbled, praying that Lily wouldn't recognize it.

My prayers weren't answered. "Is that the same necklace from fifty years ago?" she asked, frowning.

I sighed. "Yes," I admitted. "Klaus gave it to me as a birthday present, okay?"

Lily's eyes widened. "So you're wearing it?"

Stefan frowned at me. "You can't do that, Elizabeth. You'll make him think that you still love him," he told me.

"Yeah Lizzie, don't lead on your hybrid ex," Damon told me.

I sighed. "It's really pretty, okay? I'll take it off when we get home," I promised them, then turned around and walked out of the Grill. my family followed me, still frowning about me wearing Klaus' necklace.

As I walked towards my car, I was suddenly slammed against the ground. My head ached with pain, and I caught a pair of yellow eyes before my attacker bit my arm. I howled out in pain, before the hybrid was ripped off of me.

"Elizabeth!" Lily pulled me up, as Damon ripped the heart out of the hybrid who bit me. "Are you okay?"

"No," I whispered, staring down at the bite on my arm. "I was bitten, Lily. And a hybrid bite kills a vampire."

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, Katerina The Von, too lazy to sign in, and Paris101 for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	48. the bite

**Out of place A/N: **I forgot to mention it last chapter, but in my story, Damon was never bitten by Tyler. P.S, I apologize in advance if things don't exactly follow the wolf bite symptoms we've learned from the show. I've tried my best to make Lizzie's reaction similar to the ones we've seen, but, like always, I've put writing the chapter as best as I could before being exactly correct on the facts.

**Chapter forty seven**

The bite

_Elizabeth_

_My brothers' dead eyes stared up at me. dead. They were dead._

"_No!" I sobbed. My brothers were my only family, the only two people I had left. They couldn't be dead._

"_No! please, don't leave me!" I sobbed into my hands, my heart aching. They couldn't be dead, it wasn't plausible. _

"_No! come back!"_

"Elizabeth!"

I gasped, my eyes flying open. _It was just a hallucination. It wasn't real, _I told myself. A pair of green eyes stared down at me, wide and full of fear. "I thought that you and Damon were dead again," I whispered to Stefan.

"We're not, Elizabeth," he assured me, sitting down at the foot of my bed. I sat up, my arm aching. I sweating like crazy, and it wasn't just from my nightmare/hallucination.

I had been bitten by one of Klaus' hybrids. I was dying.

I looked down at the bite on my arm. Lily had wrapped it up, as if it would go away if we couldn't see it. But we all knew what it meant, being bitten by a hybrid. A bite from a werewolf could kill a vampire, and the same went with hybrids. Even if we couldn't see my bite, it was still there.

"How are you doing?" he asked me, looking mentally and emotionally tired. I shrugged, trying to play off how much pain I was in.

"Fine, could be worse," I lied, trying to fight off a wave of chills that came over me suddenly.

"Don't lie," Damon said, suddenly appearing in my room. "You're in pain. You're hallucinating too, about when you found Stefan and I, shot dead. And now you're shivering," he pointed out, as I gave in and shook violently.

"No," I shook my head, hugging my blanket tighter to my body. "I'm fine, okay? I'm fine."

"You're dying," Damon retorted, causing Stefan to flinch. I didn't, though. I lost the right to flinch at the obvious truth when I tried to kill myself a few weeks ago.

"Yes, I am," I agreed, gritting my teeth against the pain. I didn't want them to know how much pain I was in. it would just make this all the more worse for them. I was dying and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

Damon suddenly shook his head, obviously regretting saying the truth. "We'll get you a cure, Elizabeth. There has to be _something."_

"There's not," I told him, shaking my head slightly. "There's not and you both know it. I don't want to give either of you false hope. I've seen what a werewolf bite does to a vampire. The best thing the two of you can do is put me out of my misery, before I go crazy and go on a killing spree."

"_No," _both of my brothers growled at the same time, not surprising me in the slightest.

"We're not killing you Lizzie, okay?" Stefan told me.

"Stefan-" I tried to argue, but they wouldn't hear it.

"No, we're going to get you a cure, okay Lizzie?" Damon said stubbornly, before handing me the glass of blood on my bedside table. "Drink. Blood heals."

"It won't heal this wound," I muttered.

"just drink the damn blood, okay Elizabeth?" he snapped at me. I didn't argue and did as told. I noticed that my brothers were acting the way they did when they were grieving. Stefan got quiet while Damon got angry. I drank the entire glass under Damon's watchful eye, before settling back into my bed.

"Where's Lily?" I asked to break the awkward silence. If I was going to die, I wanted to be with my family, and my family was Stefan, Damon, and Lily.

"I don't know. I haven't seen her since we brought you home," Stefan replied as Damon angrily paced my room. Stefan squeezed my hand, trying to send me as much comfort as he could with the small gesture.

Another wave of pain washed over me, my bite always aching. The pain really was unbearable, but I didn't want my brothers to know. I knew that it would hurt them to know that I was hurting. "Do you remember my eighth birthday?" I asked suddenly.

Damon didn't answer, but he looked back at me and stopped his pacing. "Yeah," Stefan said after a few moments of silence.

"All I wanted in the whole world was a doll, but dad refused to get me one. He said that they were too 'expensive' when we were one of the richest families in town." I rolled my eyes, suddenly bitter at my father for being a cheapskate. I suddenly grinned, when I remembered what my brothers did.

"So, on my birthday, you two gave me this doll that you made yourselves, because you knew how much I wanted one. And it was the ugliest thing to ever exist. It was a little creepy too, I was always a little afraid that it would come alive and kill me in my sleep. It's hair was made out of twine, and it looked like worms. It was dirty and just all around ugly. Still, I named it 'Alice' and played with it every day, just because you two gave it to me. I got made fun of by the other girls in town, but I still carried Alice around proudly. I didn't care what they thought, because I figured she must be cool if my big brothers gave her to me."

"Why are you bringing that up?" Damon asked.

"Because that was a good day," I told them with a small, sad smile. I closed my eyes, my eyes stinging with tears. It suddenly hit me that I was going to die, that I was never going to see my brothers again. I didn't want them to see me cry, though.

"We'll have more days like that, okay Lizzie?" Stefan promised me.

I shook my head slightly and opened my eyes. "No, we won't. I'll be dead within the next few days, Stef," I told him quietly.

Suddenly, sickness overcame me. I leaned over the bed and vomited out the blood that I had just drank. My body had rejected it, it rejected healing. After I finished, I let loose the howl of pain I was keeping inside.

"It hurts," I whimpered into my pillows, letting my tears flow freely. I was tired of putting on a brave face for my brothers. I was _dying. _I didn't want to die, but I wasn't foolish enough to believe that there really was cure out there. "It hurts so much."

"Shh," Stefan said, like I was a sick child. He pulled me into his arms, despite the fact that I was sweaty and blood staining the front of my shirt. "It'll be okay, Lizzie. Everything will be okay."

And because he was my big brother and I was dying, I let myself believe that. for one minute, I let myself believe that everything would be okay.

_Lily_

Lily had been AWOL since Elizabeth had been bitten. Despite her best friend home, slowly dying from a hybrid bite, Lily was staking out the original mansion, waiting for the original hybrid to come home. She'd rather not face his entire family, mostly because of Rebekah. The blonde never liked her.

Her phone suddenly went off, as Lily impatiently waited in her car. She was normally a patient person, but not under these circumstances. "Hello?" she asked distractedly.

"_Where the hell are you?" _Damon snapped, though his voice was thick with pain so obvious there might as well be a neon sign stating it. _Damon Salvatore was in pain over the very real possibility of losing his baby sister. the one he held so dear and loved so much. The one he had already lost her too many times before._

"Trying to save Elizabeth's life," Lily said calmly, wishing that she was next to Damon at that moment, that she could provide any sort of pain reliever to him. she didn't care if Damon yelled at her, as long as it made him feel better.

"_What? So you _do _know of a cure," _Damon muttered.

"Mmhmm. And, lucky for us, his name is Klaus and he just happens to claim that he cares for Elizabeth."

"_Klaus is the cure?" _Damon asked, shocked.

"Yep, his blood. it's very useful, all the little tidbits you pick up traveling with the originals for centuries," Lily murmured, her eyes never leaving the original mansion.

"_Wait, how do you know that he's going to be so willing to hand over his blood to Elizabeth?" _Damon asked, as if something had just suddenly occurred to him.

"He's been claiming since he stepped foot in this town that he cares about Lizzie. I've seen him hand over his blood for a lot less," Lily told him, frowning.

"_Well, it _was _his hybrid that bit her in the first place. Maybe he finally realized that he has zero chance at getting Elizabeth back and decided to have her killed." _Lily's stomach sank at the thought. It could easily be true.

"No. I can't believe that, Damon. Klaus' blood is the only cure for a wolf bite," Lily said stubbornly.

"_You think I wanted to believe that, Lily? I'm so close to losing my baby sister-" _Damon suddenly cut himself off, and Lily exhaled sharply. Yes, it was hard on everyone, the thought of losing Elizabeth. It was unthinkable, losing her.

"Even if I have to sell my soul, I'll get that cure," Lily said softly, swallowing a lump in her throat.

"_Do you want me to go with you?" _Damon offered.

"No, I think it best if I go alone. You don't make the best impressions when you're happy, Damon. right now you're upset and sad and angry- if you go with me, I'm pretty sure that Klaus will rip your throat out," Lily said honestly.

Damon knew that she was right, so he didn't argue. _"Fine, but make it quick. I don't know how long she has."_

"I will. You and Stefan need to take care of her, Damon. I've played nurse to a couple of wolf bite victims in my life- it's not very pretty. There's the unbearable pain, the chills, the hallucinations- not to forget that she'll go rabid soon. Oh, and don't feed her blood, she'll just vomit it back up. The bite isn't allowing her body to heal, and since blood heals her body is rejecting it."

"_Well, I wish you told me that an hour ago," _Damon muttered. _"Just… be careful Lily, okay?"_

"Careful Damon," Lily teased weakly, despite the situation. "For a second I almost thought that you cared about me."

"_We wouldn't want that, now would we?" _Damon retorted before hanging up.

Lily sighed, then got out of her car. She was going to get Elizabeth's cure even if it killed her.

_Elizabeth_

I got weakly out of my bed, in search of my brothers. They had been gone too long, and I didn't want to be alone. I was just in a pair of old plaid pajama pants from the 70's and an oversized t-shirt. I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror and I thought that I looked like a very sick person… or a zombie. I was covered in sweat and was sickly pale. My bandage needed to be changed, because they were stained with blood, as was the front of my shirt.

"Damon? Stefan?" I called, shaking suddenly when a wave of chills hit me. I bumped into a wall and leaned on it for support. "Please, I don't want to be alone."

"_Damon? Stefan?" I called. "Where are you two? You promised that we would spend time together today!"_

_I ran in my backyard, searching for my brothers. I found them in the garden with Katherine. I frowned when I saw them fawning over her. no one else saw past her beauty and charm. No one else except for me. _

"_You promised that we would spend time together today," I repeated in a whisper, catching their attention. Just by looking at them, I could already tell that that wasn't going to happen._

"_Oh, go run along, Elizabeth," Katherine told me with an eye roll. "Do you not have any other friends?"_

_I looked at my brothers, begging them silently to defend me. they exchanged looks, both looking slightly surprised that Katherine would say something like that. but then Damon shook his head slightly and said, "Go away, Elizabeth. I shall spend time with you tomorrow." Stefan nodded in agreement and they both turned back to Katherine._

"Lizzie?"

"She is playing you!" I exclaimed, pushing Stefan away angrily and glaring at him. "Katherine is tearing our family apart and you are doing nothing but standing aside and letting her do it!"

"Elizabeth!" Damon suddenly appeared at my side. "It's not 1864, Elizabeth."

I gasped slightly and blinked. "What?" I asked, confused.

"You had another hallucination," Stefan explained.

I shook slightly, feeling very vulnerable and _scared. _"I'm going crazy," I whispered.

"No, you're not," Damon assured me. "Come on, let's get you back to bed."

I let my brothers lead me back to my room and tuck me into bed. They stayed with me, Stefan at the foot of my bed and Damon sitting at my bedside. "I don't feel too good," I whispered, shivering despite the layer of blankets on me.

"Lily's getting you a cure, Lizzie," Damon told me. "You'll be good as new soon."

I didn't argue with them, mostly because the delusional thought of a cure for a wolf/hybrid bite comforted me. "When I get better, can we go to Disney World?" I asked, closing my eyes.

"Disney World?" Stefan asked, and I could tell that he was smiling slightly.

"I've been alive for 162 years and I've never been there. Plus, it's supposed to be a place for families. When I get better, we're going to Disney World," I said, more firmly this time.

"Fine, we'll go to Disney World," Damon agreed. "But you have to promise to stay alive, okay Lizzie? You have to really try."

I frowned slightly and I opened my eyes slightly. "It hurts, Damon. I hurt so much, and I just want it to stop," I whispered, a tear in the corner of my eye.

"You have to try, Lizzie," Stefan insisted. "When Lily gets the cure, it'll be over."

I gulped slightly but nodded. "Okay, I'll try. For Disney World."

A ghost of a smile flickered across Damon's face. "For Disney World," he repeated, before grabbing my arm gently. He peeled my bandaged off and I didn't even try to hide my flinch of pain.

"How does it look?" I whispered as Stefan and Damon stared at my wound.

"Better," Damon said after a few silent beats. "It's definitely getting better. See? You've just started trying and you're already getting better."

"Liar." I smiled slightly. "I always know when you're lying to me, Damon."

I pulled my arm away to see it for myself. On my forearm, near my wrist, there was a bite mark. It was big, no nip or love bite that I've seen in the past. The hybrid who bit me meant for it to hurt. The bite didn't look pretty, either. Flesh was rotting away, and it looked infected, almost. It was definitely worse than when I was just bitten.

I gulped slightly and flung my arm away. "Can you wrap it up again? I don't like looking at it," I whispered, closing my eyes.

We could all fool ourselves with the idea of a cure, but I was dying. The nasty bite on my arm just made it that much more certain.

_Lily_

She walked into the original mansion without knocking. Even if Lily couldn't find Klaus, she would find Elijah who would help her find his brother. Elijah would help Lily just because they were friends, and she knew that, deep down, he liked Elizabeth. He liked her spunk, her light, her feistiness. He wouldn't want that to die, and certainly in not such a cruel way as a hybrid bite.

"Lilianna, what a surprise. I see that in the four hundred years since I've last seen you, you're manners haven't improved. Do you not know that it is rude to walk into a house uninvited?"

Lily groaned and gritted her teeth. She was in no mood for Rebekah and her uncalled bitchiness. She would never understand why she hated her so much.

"Where is Klaus?" she asked, turning around to face the blonde original.

"Why do you wish to know?" Rebekah replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

Lily sighed. "Just tell me, Rebekah," she demanded.

The blonde narrowed her eyes at Lily. "I am an _original, _Lilianna. You are in no position to be bossing me around," she snapped, before slamming her into a marble staircase.

Lily groaned with pain, as Rebekah dug her nails into her skin, ready to rip some vital organ from her. then Rebekah was ripped off of Lily, and she met the gaze belonging to a much friendlier and welcomed original.

"Lilianna, what are you doing here?" Elijah asked, frowning slightly. If this was about his deal with Elizabeth, it wasn't very smart for them to talk about it in the mansion. Word would be sure to get back to Klaus or one of his siblings, and Kol was already suspicious. _Kol. _They needed to be more careful.

"It's Elizabeth," Lily breathed, finding herself crumbling under Elijah's gaze. Ignoring a glaring Rebekah, Lily explained what was happening. "Elizabeth was bitten by a hybrid, Elijah. She's dying. I need to know where Klaus is, he's my only shot at saving her."

Elijah blinked, but took the news in quickly. Therefore, he was able to produce a solution fast. "Niklaus is out of town, dealing with an issue about his _hybrids." _Elijah said the word like it was a word. Lily's face fell at the news. "However, he is not that far away. Here, call him. I'm sure that he would be more than willing to heal Elizabeth." He silently handed Lily his phone, and she grabbed it and walked off to make the call.

Elijah then turned to face his sister. During his conversation with Lily, she had went from looking smug to looking put out. He raised an eyebrow at her. "You would not have anything to do with Elizabeth's bite, would you Rebekah?" he asked her calmly.

She scoffed. "Of course not, Elijah. I would not waste my time and energy on that wench." She was a convincing actress, Elijah admitted to himself, but he still didn't buy her words completely.

"Well, I surely hope not," Elijah said, still calm. He stepped closer to Rebekah. "For your sake, I hope not. If Niklaus ever found out that you tried to hurt the only woman he cared about during his time as a vampire, he would shove that dagger back into your heart. And if _I _ever found out that you did that, I would not stop him," he said in a low, menacing voice. Then Elijah turned and walked away from his sister, leaving her to consider the consequences of her actions alone.

_Elizabeth_

I moaned into my pillow, another round of pain hitting me. it was getting worse- the pain, the chills, the hallucinations. I knew that my time was running out, and so was my hope that I would ever get a cure for my bite.

I made Stefan and Damon leave the room, despite the fact that I didn't want to be alone. I knew that it was putting them through their own pain, watching me groan and cry and whimper from the pain, and knowing that they could do nothing about it. I didn't want to put them through that, so I lied and said that I wanted to be by myself so that they wouldn't have to witness my pain.

"_Stay away from me!" I screamed at Klaus, tears streaming down my face. "I hate you! You deserve nobody, Klaus! I loved you and you just used me!"_

_Klaus' face darkened and he grabbed me roughly. "Calm down, Elizabeth," he growled. _

"_You will be alone forever," I whispered, tears still falling freely. _

"_As will you."_

"Where is she?" I heard a very familiar voice growl from the floor below, but I thought that it was still a part of my hallucination.

"Upstairs," Damon's dead voice answered. In a flash, my bedroom door slammed open, and I opened my eyes to see the man from my hallucinations.

"Klaus," I whispered. "Are you real or one of hallucinations?"

His eyes took in my pale, sweaty, sick figure, curled up in my blankets, looking on the brink of death. All the anger faded from his eyes as he walked towards me.

"I'm the real deal, love," he whispered. "But I'm flattered that you're hallucinating about me."

I smiled at that, though it hurt to smile at that point. Klaus laid down on the other side of the bed. I didn't mind, though. I was on my death bed and was suffering from chills and Klaus was warm. I leaned into his figure and basked in his body heat.

"Are you here to say goodbye to me?" I asked, finding Klaus surprisingly comfortable. That was another thing Klaus the Evil Hybrid shouldn't be- comfortable.

"That sounds so… depressing and final. I'd rather not, if that's an option," Klaus said lightly.

I frowned. "I know that our relationship is more dysfunctional than a stripper's with her dad, but I thought that you'd at least like to say goodbye to me, since I _am _dying, and death for a normal vampire is pretty permanent."

Klaus frowned too. "I choose to ignore that you compared us to a stripper and her father. And who says you have to die?" he asked.

My frown deepened. "The nasty bite on my arm, given to me by one of _your _hybrids," I countered.

Klaus' face darkened. "Don't remind me. I don't know how that happened- I made it very clear that you were not to be harmed."

"Perhaps you didn't make yourself clear enough," I retorted.

"Perhaps I didn't," he muttered to himself, before focusing on me again. "You don't have to die, Elizabeth."

I rolled my eyes. "Not you too. Can somebody please just be realistic and accept that there is no cure?" I asked rhetorically.

"What if I told you that _I _was the cure?" Klaus asked, and my eyes snapped up to him.

"If that is some kind of joke…" I whispered.

"It's not. My blood is a cure to a wolf bite, Elizabeth," Klaus told me and I took a deep breath.

"You're here to heal me," I whispered.

"Only if you want me too," Klaus murmured, before his hand brushed the locket around my neck. "You're wearing the locket I gave you."

"It's too pretty not to die in," I muttered, earning a chuckle from Klaus.

"Do you want me to heal you, Elizabeth?" he asked, his fingers brushing my pale, sweaty skin. I didn't mind, his touch was actually nice and I leaned into it.

"Yes," I breathed. "I don't want to die."

Without another word, Klaus bit into his wrist and pressed it against my lips. I drank earnestly, adding two more things to my growing list of things Klaus the Evil Hybrid shouldn't be. Klaus the Evil Hybrid shouldn't be a lifesaver and he shouldn't have good tasting blood.

"That's enough, Lizzie," he said, pulling his wrist away from my mouth. Then he sat up. "I imagine that you want to be with your brothers right now, so I shall see myself out."

"Wait," I said, grabbing his arm. I was already starting to feel better. "Stay with me, okay? Stay with me until I feel absolutely better. Please?"

Klaus stared down thoughtfully at me before nodding slowly. He laid back down and I rested my head on his chest. "Thank you," I whispered.

"Elizabeth, even if you did want to die, I would've healed you anyway. I'm too selfish to let you go," Klaus said honestly. We both knew that that didn't just apply to my wolf bite.

It didn't matter at that moment that Klaus was an evil hybrid, or that I was plotting his murder with his brother. It didn't matter that I was in love with Jeremy and he was what was keeping us apart. It didn't matter that our relationship was more dysfunctional than a stripper's with her father. The only thing that mattered was that we had history between us, and feelings that weren't completely dead on both sides. The only thing that mattered was that Klaus genuinely cared for me, and, at that moment, I believed that he did.

And that was why I kissed him.

_**~LG~**_

**In place A/N: **thank you to: Katerina The Von, Paris101, and RainySmithCullenSalvatore X for reviewing!

Reviews are love!

~Abby :)


	49. the party

**Chapter forty eight**

The party

_Elizabeth_

"What is this party thing for again?" I asked Lily as we searched through racks of clothing, looking for dresses for a founder event tonight.

"It's a fundraiser to keep the streets of Mystic Falls clean," Lily replied.

A few days had passed since my close call with death. Since then, all I've done was bond with my family, and hit myself for kissing Klaus. I kissed _Klaus. _My excuse was that I was still a little sick from my bite, and completely traumatized from almost dying. It didn't help that that was the second time in a week that I've kissed him and he politely pushed me away.

After I kissed Klaus, he gently pulled away, kissed my forehead and left. I almost wished that he'd take advantage of me- it'd be something Klaus the Evil Hybrid would do. And when he was Klaus the Evil Hybrid, it was easier to hate him. the only problem was that he hadn't been Klaus the Evil Hybrid in a long time, not around me anyway.

I hadn't told Lily about either kisses yet, there hadn't been any time. My brothers were all about family bonding lately, though I didn't mind. I was still shaken up from my bite. They still owed me a trip to Disney World too. And even if I had had time to tell Lily, I probably wouldn't of have. I knew that I had to at some point, though.

"Here, try this on," Lily ordered, giving me a red dress. "It'll go well with your charm bracelet and ring." But more importantly, the locket Klaus gave me would clash terribly with it. No, Lily definitely wasn't a supporter of Klaus and me.

I took the dress and walked to a dressing room to try it on. It flattered my curves, but I thought that it might be a little too long. I came out of the room and looked around for Lily, in order to get her opinion, but she was nowhere to be found.

"It's a little too long in my opinion- it'd be a shame to hide those long legs of yours."

I sighed. "You're just everywhere, aren't you?" I asked, turning around to face Klaus.

He raised his hands as if to surrender. "I've been forced to go dress shopping with Rebekah. She says it's my punishment for daggering her," he explained.

I looked behind him to see Kol harassing the cashier. "So why is Kol here?" I asked, uncomfortable with Kol being here. Last time we talked, he was suspicious of me and Elijah.

"He was bored." Klaus shrugged before letting his eyes trail down my body. "Like I said before, the dress doesn't show off your legs, and you have such nice legs."

"Well, thanks for your uninvited opinion," I snapped before walking back towards my dressing room.

"I saw Lilianna here," Klaus said bluntly, causing me to stop walking. "Does she know that you kissed me- twice?"

"_Shut up,"_ I growled, praying that Lily didn't overhear him. "It doesn't count, okay? The first time I was drunk and the second time I was still sick from my bite."

"You're just full of excuses, aren't you Elizabeth?" Klaus asked, sounding slightly annoyed. "Well, the third time you kiss me will be because you want to, and you'll have no excuse to hide your feelings behind."

He started to walk away, before he smirked and called over his shoulder, "Oh, see you at the fundraiser tonight. I hope you do take my advice and where something to show off those legs of yours."

I frowned at him as he walked away. Klaus and his family was going to be at the fundraiser tonight. I knew instantly that tonight was going to be memorable- and not for good reasons.

_**~LG~**_

"I don't get what was so wrong with that red dress," Lily muttered as we got ready in my room. I decided to wear the dress she have me for my birthday, since it was dressy enough for the fundraiser.

"It didn't show off my legs," I muttered unwillingly. I hated to admit it, but Klaus was right. My legs were my favorite part of me, and the red dress just didn't show them off.

She sighed but nodded in agreement. "I look good in green, right?" she asked, twirling in her dress slightly.

I checked her out and sighed. "You and Damon are going to have sex tonight, aren't you?" I mumbled. Lily looked hot, and Damon wasn't going to let her get away with that without feeling her up.

"If that's what Lily's wearing to the fundraiser, then we sure are."

I wrinkled my nose as Lily beamed and walked over to my brother. She did his tie for him, saying, "If you keep saying sweet things like that, there's a good chance we'll be having sex real soon."

"God, not in my room!" I groaned.

Damon smirked and kissed Lily before leaving. He frowned at my dress before leaving, though. "That's a really short dress, Lizzie," he told me.

I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm 162 years old, Damon- I can wear short dresses if I want to," I retorted, before walking over to my jewelry box.

Damon left my room as I decided what jewelry I would wear. My charm bracelet was a must, but my hand skimmed the locket Klaus gave me. it would go so well with my dress…

"I kissed Klaus," I blurted out suddenly, the guilt of hiding something that big from Lily becoming too much. "Twice."

She froze, in the middle of putting on eye liner. Slowly, she turned around to face me. "What?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"I kissed Klaus," I repeated, this time in a whisper. "But it doesn't count, not really. The first time I was drunk and the second time I was still sick from my hybrid bite. It doesn't count, Lily," I insisted.

Before Lily could respond, Stefan suddenly walked into my room. "Are you two ready to go?" he asked us.

Slowly, Lily and I nodded. Without looking Lily in the eyes, I put on my boots and then grabbed Klaus' necklace. Then I walked past her and out of my room.

I was in deep trouble.

_**~LG~**_

"Hey Ellie." Elena greeted me with a small smile, as we walked into the fundraiser together, Stefan between us. "How are you doing?"

I shrugged. "I could be better," I replied honestly. I still needed to talk to Lily about my blurted out confession, but I was avoiding her.

She smiled sympathetically, before frowning. "I'm so sorry-" she started to say, but I stopped her.

"It's not your fault, Elena. You were just telling the truth. It's better for Jeremy if I'm not with him," I said, grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing waitress,

"But after you compelled him, you-" she started to say, but I cut her off again.

"Went crazy and started tearing out throats? Again, my fault, not yours. You have nothing to apologize for, Elena," I said, taking a sip from my glass.

She sighed and looked like she disagreed, but decided to drop the argument. "It really is nice seeing you again," she said and I smiled at her.

"Same here, Elena. I've just been so busy-"

"-trying to kill Klaus?" she finished with a raised eyebrow.

I frowned up at Stefan. "You told her?" I asked.

He shrugged. "She doesn't like when I keep secrets from her."

I sighed and finished my drink. "Well, I'm going to go get drunk," I said bluntly, before going to walk away from them. Stefan grabbed my arm before I could, though.

"No, you're not," he said sternly and I sighed again.

"Buzz kill," I muttered, knowing that if I tried to get drunk, Stefan would be there to ruin it. "Fine, I won't get drunk. But all I can promise you is moderately sober," I added.

Stefan smiled slightly. "I'll take what I can get," he said.

I waved goodbye to Stefan and Elena and went to hide from not only Lily, but the originals too. Rebekah hated me, Kol was suspicious, I had never met Finn, I couldn't talk to Elijah without making Kol even more suspicious, and Klaus was Klaus. I found Damon, thankfully alone, by the bar.

"Will you dance with me?" I asked him, a small smile on my lips. "We are lifelong dance partners after all."

Damon sighed before finishing his drink and standing up. If I hadn't almost died a few days ago, he would've said no. but my brothers were still shaken up from almost losing me, so Damon sucked up his pride and danced with his little sister.

I giggled as Damon spun me around the dance floor. He smiled as I laughed, and for a second I felt 146 years younger, like we were back in 1864 and everything was simple again. He twirled me around the dance floor, and people stared at us. We ignored them though, and I just focused on how goofy Damon and I could be together.

"I don't think spinning me around counts as dancing," I said as we walked off the dance floor, me a little unsteady due to all the spinning.

Damon just rolled his eyes as we were joined by Lily. My smile instantly dropped as she stared intently at me. "Can I borrow Lizzie for a moment?" she asked.

"You can keep her as long as I get you after." Damon smirked at her and kissed her quickly.

Lily smiled and kissed him back before pulling me away. we stood near the dance floor, in a corner. "So, you kissed Klaus. Twice," she started and I sighed.

"If you're just going to judge me and tell me how stupid I am for kissing Klaus, for even giving the pretense that I'm falling for him again, I don't want to hear it," I snapped.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Elizabeth, have I ever judged you? For the eighty years we've been best friends, have I once judged you? Even when you were in your darkest place, have I?" she asked calmly.

I sighed and shook my head. "No, you haven't. I'm sorry."

She waved my apology away. "What I want to know is why we're plotting to kill him if you still have feelings for him," she said.

"I _don't _like Klaus," I insisted. "I was-"

"I know, you were drunk and sick. But that isn't an excuse Elizabeth, not really."

She sighed when I stubbornly crossed my arms over my chest and didn't answer. "You know," she said quietly. "It's so much easier to hate than it is to love, especially when the person you're hating has hurt you before. Because no one wants to admit that they let that person in long enough to love them again. Or worse- that they had never stopped loving that person in the first place."

"What are you saying?" I whispered.

"I'm saying that you still care about Klaus, Elizabeth. Deep down, you do. And that's okay," she told me kindly.

"No!" I exclaimed. "It's not."

I turned on my heels and stormed away from her, away from her accusations. I didn't care about Klaus, I didn't love him. it'd make me so stupid to, and I wasn't stupid. Lily didn't know what she was talking about- those kisses meant nothing.

Lily let me storm away, probably deeming it safer to let me cool off on my own. She probably thought that I was just in denial, and I insisted to myself that I wasn't. there was no way that I still felt anything for Klaus other than hate and bitter resentment.

"I see that you listened to me and decided to show off those legs of yours."

I whirled around and glared at the cause of all of my problems. "I'm not in the mood," I snapped at him.

Klaus just rolled his eyes. "Come, dance with me," he said, grabbing my arm.

I yanked it away. "No, go dance by yourself."

He sighed. "What's wrong, love? Why are you so cranky?"

I bit my lip. "Why did you cheat on me?" I blurted out. I had to know why, and he never told me.

Klaus sighed again. "If we're going to do this here, let's go outside," he said. I gave in and followed him out into the night.

"You're wearing my necklace," he pointed out as we walked through a garden. It was a beautiful night out, and my hand reached up to grab the locket hanging against my chest.

"It went too well with my dress." I shrugged.

"You're just full of excuses, aren't you?" he rolled his eyes, repeating his earlier words.

"Maybe they're just facts that you refuse to accept," I retorted, glaring slightly at him.

A few silent moments passed as we walked slowly through the garden. "You wanted to know why I cheated on you?" he asked quietly.

I nodded, not knowing what to expect. "I… I cheated on you because I was confused and angry and… a little scared too," he said.

I frowned at him. "What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"You were just supposed to be something to pass the time with, Elizabeth," Klaus explained. "You weren't supposed to mean anything to me. yet, you made me start to care about you. It confused me, that I was even capable of caring about you. I had myself convinced for the longest time that I couldn't, that it made me weak. Then I got angry at you, because you made me weak. I was a little scared, caring about you scared me. and I thought if I slept with another woman, my feelings would go away. they didn't. they never went away."

He turned to face me, a dead serious expression on his face. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I've hurt you," he whispered, rubbing my cheek with his thumb. He looked so honest that I had to believe him.

My breath caught in my throat and I found myself unable to speak. Klaus took a deep breath, looking as if he was about to get a big secret off of his chest. I gulped slightly.

"I love you, Elizabeth."

I closed my eyes. for so long, I've wanted to hear those words. but hearing them know only made me more conflicted. "You should've told me that a long time ago," I whispered.

"I know, and I apologize for not doing so," he replied, his thumb still stroking my cheek.

My eyes opened and I stared up at him. "How do I know that you're not going to hurt me again?" I blurted out, biting my lip.

"You don't," he replied bluntly. "I have a lot to make up for, and I know that I'm not going to be able to make up for some things. I'm going to try my best, though. I love you," he repeated.

I didn't just like hearing him saying that to me, I _loved _it. At that moment, I knew that Lily was right. I still cared about Klaus, and he loved me. at that moment, I allowed myself to believe that he did.

Slowly, I stretched up and lightly kissed him. the kiss wasn't like my other two. It was soft and hesitant, and this time Klaus kissed me back. I shut my eyes tight and blocked out the rest of my thoughts. Klaus had just admitted to me that he loved me, and I had admitted to myself that I still cared about him.

I didn't know how we made it back to his mansion, only that the kiss had morphed into something hot and passionate and lustful when we reached his bedroom. I slammed Klaus against his wall, tugging at his clothes. He easily overpowered me and pinned me against his bed. I allowed him to take my dress off, hissing at him not to rip it while kissing him roughly.

That was the first time in 146 years that I had slept with Klaus, and I had no excuse for doing so.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **so, I have made the Klaus supporters happy, and probably pissed off team Jeremy. Oh well.

Thank you: Paris101, Pickle Paige, Katerina The Von, Lady Syndra, thehoodedface, Elle, RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, and Abby!

Review!

~Abby :)


	50. walk of shame

**Chapter forty nine**

Walk of shame

_Elizabeth_

The first thing I realized when I woke up was that I was naked, completely naked. The second thing was that I wasn't in my own bed, and the third was that Klaus was sleeping beside me. a very naked Klaus.

He had his arms wrapped around me waist, and my head was resting on his chest. I stiffened as I remembered how eventful last night was. Klaus admitted to me that he loves me, I admitted to myself that I still cared about him, and we had sex. Very hot, very good sex.

I closed my eyes, not knowing what to do. I had slept with the enemy, the man who was the reason I couldn't be with Jeremy- the one I really loved. But could I completely love Jeremy when I still cared about Klaus, still liked him? I was so torn, so confused, I felt like my head was going to explode.

I knew that what I did next would affect everything with Klaus. If I stayed, it'd be painfully obvious that I still cared about him, that last night meant more to me than just hot distraction sex. If I left, I'd be denying my feelings _again, _something that I was getting sick of. But I was torn between what my brain tells me is right and wrong and what my heart wants. I didn't know what to do, so I did the safest thing, the easiest thing.

I got the hell out of there.

Slowly, carefully, I pulled out of Klaus' arms. I didn't want to wake him up, because that would make the whole situation worse. I found my panties along with my dress on the floor, but I couldn't find my bra anywhere. I bit my lip and kept shooting frantic glances at Klaus' sleeping figure as I looked all around his bedroom for my bra, but it was missing. I found my locket under a rug though, and after a moment's thought, I quickly clasped it on. I snuck out of Klaus' room, my dress half zipped up, my hair an absolute mess, and carrying my heels. I looked for my bra as I slowly made my way out of the original mansion. It was my best bra and I didn't want to leave any of my personal items at Klaus' mansion.

I quickly became lost in the mansion- it was just too big with too many turns, and I was sure that Klaus put some secret passage ways into it as well. I was careful not to make any sound as I walked up and down staircases. And I was even more careful not to run into any originals. There wasn't one that I wanted to see at that moment.

Suddenly, when I turned down a hallway, I was face-to-face with one of the people I was trying desperately to avoid. Luckily, it was Finn, the one I would be the happiest to see, mostly because I had yet to meet him- aside from when I de-daggered him.

We just stared at each other. I was frozen with shock and fear, my icy blue eyes wide. Finn looked slightly surprised to see me, but then he looked at me with indifference before moving into a room. I let out the breath I was holding before continuing down the hallway.

Eventually I made it to the foyer. I sighed in relief and made to run out the front door, when I was suddenly stopped by an unwelcomed voice.

"Are you missing something, Elizabeth?"

I stiffened and turned around to face a smirking Kol, my lacy black bra dangling from his fingers. "Give that to me," I snapped, reaching for it.

Kol pulled it out of my reach, his smirk growing wider. "I've caught you in the middle of your walk of shame, I see. I doubt that my brother will be too happy, not to see you when he wakes up," he continued.

"Just give me my bra, Kol," I said through gritted teeth, my eyes darting around the room in case Klaus suddenly appeared.

"But it would go against my beliefs, Lizzie," he said innocently. "You see, I am very much against beautiful women such as yourself wearing bras."

I rolled my eyes. "Forget it, I'll just buy another one," I muttered, before turning towards the door again.

"I see that Nik's toy is trying to make her escape," Rebekah announced as she walked into the room. I sighed. The only thing that could make this worse was if Elijah and Klaus decided to walk in and join this family meeting I was apparently apart of.

"First of all, I am _not _Klaus' toy," I said firmly, my eyes flashing dangerously. I seriously regretted de-daggering that blonde bitch.

"Yes Bekah, didn't you hear? Nik is in _love _now. I can't say I don't admire his taste in women," Kol said cheerfully, his eyes roaming my disheveled body.

I looked at him sharply. "How'd you know that?"

"You two made quite the racket last night. between all the moaning and screaming, I'm pretty sure Nik told you he loved you once or twice. But I might've confused that with when he told you he loved how-"

"Do _not _finish that sentence," I growled.

"-Charming you are," Kol finished innocently, a smirk on his lips.

I glared at him, when Rebekah cut in. "Don't tell me it's true?" she asked, looking crushed. "Have you really caught Nik in your web?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't know, okay? Ask 'Nik,'" I told her, turning my back on the originals and walking towards the door.

Suddenly, Rebekah had me pinned against the wall, her fingers digging painfully into my neck. her fangs were out, and she was glaring furiously at me.

"Oh my god! What the hell is your problem with me?" I choked out, unable to breath because of her grip on my throat.

"Bekah, I don't think it necessary to kill pretty little Lizzie just because you think Poppaea and Nik are meant to be together," Kol said casually, though he made no move to get Rebekah off of me.

Rebekah and I glared at Kol for different reasons, and I managed to slip out of her grip and ran to the other side of the room. "Is that why you hate me so much?" I asked, surprised. "Because I'm a threat to Poppy and Klaus?"

I rubbed my neck as Rebekah switched from glaring at Kol to glaring at me. "No, I hate you because you're a no good, little slut who's corrupting my brother," she argued, but even I could tell that she was lying.

I rolled my eyes. "Really? You hate me because of that?" suddenly, something occurred to me. "Did you send that hybrid after me?"

Rebekah chose not to answer. Instead, she lunged for my throat. I managed to dodge her attack and she crashed into a wall. I was no match for an original, so my instincts told me to get the hell out of the house. I grabbed my bra out of Kol's hand and made for the door, when suddenly Rebekah grabbed me by the hair and yanked me back.

I let out a howl of pain. "You little bitch," I hissed through gritted teeth. "You the hell goes for hair?"

In response, Rebekah broke my right arm with a sickening crack. My eyes widened in pain as I held back my scream. Kol seemed to be enjoying himself, watching the girl fight unfold in front of him. in reality, it was more of Rebekah kicking my ass because anything I did to her wouldn't cause any real damage.

In order to get away, I dug my nails into her neck, drawing blood. she howled in pain and let go of her grip on my hair. I quickly dove for the door again, but she grabbed me by the ankle and threw me into the staircase.

"You little bitch," she growled, her wounds already healed. I, on the other hand, was moaning from my fractured ribs, broken arm, and seriously aching head. "You're going to pay for that.

"Rebekah," Kol called from his spot leaning against the wall. "I wouldn't hurt Lizzie too badly. Nik tends to get possessive of his toys, and he _loves _her." Kol chuckled like he had never heard anything funnier.

She ignored her brother and instead broke a leg off of an expensive looking wooden chair. I groaned at the expected pain just before she shoved it into my chest, missing my heart by two inches.

"Mother f-" I moaned out, but was cut off when I was suddenly blocked from Rebekah's view by Elijah.

"Leave her, Rebekah," he said in a calm, dark voice, one that would've scared any other vampire. It frightened me a little bit too. It had little to no effect on Rebekah.

"But Elijah-" she tried to argue, but he silenced her with a look.

"Elizabeth," he started to say, turning around to face me. "You are free to-" he cut himself off when he saw my wild sex hair, half unzipped dress, black bra in my hand, and severely wrinkled clothing. I bet it didn't even take him a second to figure out why I was there.

I bit my lip and averted my gaze from Elijah. I didn't want to know what he thought about me at that moment, what he thought about the vampire who had just slept with his brother- the same one she had recruited him to kill. Hell, I didn't know what _I _thought of me at that moment.

"What's going on?"

At that moment, I would've rather been dead than be stuck in that room with those originals. One who hated me because I was in the way of Poppy and Klaus getting together. one who thought it was fun to flirt with me, tease me, and annoy the hell out of me, but was suspicious of me at the same time. One who probably thought I was the world's biggest whore because I had slept with the same man I was plotting the murder of. And one who was the man I had slept with and was plotting the murder of. Yeah, I'd much rather be dead.

"Elizabeth," Klaus whispered. He was shirtless and just in his pants from last night. I gulped slightly and looked around the foyer for an escape route. Without another word, I darted around Elijah and Rebekah and ran to the door again. This time, nobody stopped me.

I really had to get my shit together.

_**~LG~**_

"And where the hell have you been?"

I groaned as I walked into the boarding house. Since today was obviously not my day, my family happened to be in the living room when I walked in, completing my walk of shame.

My brothers took in my clothes, and their eyes instantly narrowed. "Please tell me that you weren't in some random guy's bed," Damon groaned.

Lily took in my clothes too, and, just like Elijah, it took her less than a second to figure out what had happened. "I wasn't in some random guy's bed?" I lied unconvincingly.

I loved Lily more at that moment than I ever had. Instead of announcing to my brothers that I had just slept with the enemy, she covered for me. "Elizabeth is a grown vampire with needs, you guys. Now we can all pretend that this never happened, and you two can continue on pretending that she's an innocent child. Are you two okay with that?" she asked my brothers.

Stefan shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

Damon groaned. "I never want to see my baby sister doing the walk of shame again."

Lily wrapped her arm around my shoulders and walked me up to my room. as soon as we were alone, she pulled her arm away and narrowed her eyes at me. "Spill," she demanded.

I sighed. "Long story short, Klaus told me he loved me, I realized that I still care about him, and we had hot sex," I summed up.

"Was it any good?" she asked curiously.

"One of the best I've ever had." I sighed.

Lily sighed too. "You've got yourself in a real mess, Elizabeth," she told me bluntly.

I nodded. "I know," I said, walking over to my jewelry box. "I think I'm going to just lay low for a while. I don't think I can face Klaus, at least not right now. I need to sort through my feelings. Badly."

After I unhooked my locket, I went to take off my charm bracelet, only to realize that I wasn't wearing it. My eyes widened and I dug through my jewelry box. It wasn't there either. I knew where it was though. At Klaus' mansion.

It seemed that I would be seeing him sooner than I hoped for.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: MonsieurDobreva, shyguy20, Pickle Paige, Elle, RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, DivineOrder, and Paris101 for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	51. second chances

**Chapter fifty**

Second chances

_Elizabeth_

I knew that I needed to get my charm bracelet back, but I was seriously considering just leaving it at the original mansion.

When I faced Klaus again, I'd have to face my feelings. And I didn't want to do that, not anytime soon. So instead, I stayed inside my house and ate ice cream while watching _Mean Girls _with Lily. I didn't think it was safe to go to the Grill, not without running into Kol or Klaus. But even in the boarding house, Klaus was still the topic of choice.

"So, is Elijah ever going to tell you how to kill his brother?" Damon asked, walking into Lily's room, where Lily and I were in her bed, sharing a carton of cookies and cream ice cream.

I bit my lip. One thing was for sure, killing Klaus wasn't an option, at least not right now. But my brothers couldn't know that. "He will. Eventually," I said vaguely, taking the carton from Lily.

"Well, does he have a certain century in mind? Because I'd love if he would choose this one to tell us," he said sarcastically.

"I'll talk to Elijah, okay? Now just let us watch our movie in peace," I grumbled, throwing my spoon at my brother.

"Okay! Okay! I never realized that interrupting girl time was off-limits," he muttered as he left the room. Lily turned and frowned at me as soon as he did.

"What _are _we going to do about that?" she asked.

"I don't know, Lil. I really don't know," I mumbled, slumping against my pillow.

"You should talk to him," Lily said firmly after a few silent minutes.

I gaped at her. "I really hope you mean talk to my brothers about buying more ice cream."

"You know who I mean, Elizabeth. You can't just avoid him the rest of your existence. He admitted he loved you- probably the first time he had ever admitted to loving anybody since he turned- and you know, deep down, that you still care about him," she said pointedly.

"But I love Jeremy, Lily. I love Jeremy!" I repeated, almost desperately.

"Do you? Or do you love that he's not Klaus more?"

I frowned at her. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Klaus hurt you. Badly. That's why it's taken you this long to admit that your feelings aren't completely gone-"

"That, and he's not a good guy," I added.

"But what if you could make him a good guy again?" Lily questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Lily-" I sighed, but she continued.

"You got _Klaus _to admit that loves you. Last time I checked, love and humanity go hand in hand. So you bring out Klaus' humanity, Elizabeth. You make him a good guy," she repeated.

"But what if he's lying?" I asked stubbornly, crossing my arms over my chest.

"He's not. Klaus believes that love is a vampire's greatest weakness. He wouldn't admit to loving you if he didn't mean it, because he's also admitting to being weak," Lily countered. "And like I was saying before, you may just love Jeremy because he's not Klaus. He's pretty much the opposite of him, and I think you know that. so you went after Jeremy in the first place because he's the opposite of Klaus, and therefore less likely to hurt you like Klaus."

I took in her words silently. "Why do you want me to be with Klaus?" I whispered, looking up at the ceiling.

"I don't," Lily replied bluntly. "I'd rather you be with a rabid grizzly bear instead of Klaus. But, more than anything else, I want you to be happy. And I think there's a real chance that you might find happiness with Klaus. I don't want you to miss out on that because you were afraid."

I took a deep breath. Lily was right. Of course she was.

"I have to go talk to Klaus."

_**~LG~**_

I paced outside of the original mansion wearing a light blue dress that went to my knees and leather jacket. I had a bottle of rum in my hand and took sips from it as I paced. I needed to find the courage to talk to Klaus, and I usually found my courage in a bottle.

"Nik was right. You do have nice legs."

I groaned as I drank from my bottle. Kol. Exactly who I didn't need at that moment.

"I bet they look nicer walking away from you," I retorted before turning around and walking back towards my car. Suddenly Kol blocked my path.

"No need to get cranky Lizzie. you've been out here all by yourself for almost an hour- I thought you'd want company," he said easily.

"You thought wrong," I replied bluntly.

"You're here to see Nik, aren't you?" Kol asked, ignoring my rudeness.

"I don't see why you need to know," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I need to know, because Rebekah's right. You are my brother's downfall, all wrapped up in a pretty little package. Now I hate Nik as much as the next person- he did kill me, after all- but if anyone gets to kill him, it's going to be me. you're my brother's weakness, Elizabeth. You're no good for him. now, I don't know what you're planning with Elijah, and I don't think I want to know, but eventually somebody who wants Nik dead- and there is a long list- is going to find out about you and use you against him. for both of your sakes, I suggest getting into your car and never coming back here again. I'd compel you if I could, but I can smell the vervain on your breath," Kol said, surprisingly serious.

I frowned slightly as I considered his words. Kol thought that if Klaus and I were to be together, I'd be killed eventually because I'm a weakness of his. And who knew what that would do to Klaus. I could only imagine that if Klaus loved me as much as he insisted, he'd become a lot worse than he already was. the best thing I could do for both of us was to not see Klaus, to not admit my feelings for him.

"You know, I'm not his only weakness," I said quietly, walking slowly to my car.

"Would you care to enlighten me about his other ones?" Kol asked, sounding back to his normal self.

"You. His family," I said bluntly.

Kol snorted. "And to show his love for us, he daggered us and kept us in coffins for long periods of time," he said sarcastically.

"He daggered you because he didn't want any of you to leave him," I replied, turning around to face him. I realized the truth in my words as I spoke them. That was why he killed me, after all. he didn't want to be alone. "Besides, Klaus killed me and I'm a weakness of his too. Or at least, that's what you and Rebekah think," I added.

Kol didn't respond as I went to get into my car. Before I could drive off, a voice stopped me.

"Elizabeth. What are you doing here?"

I gulped slightly and got out of my car. Kol still stood between Klaus and I. "I'm… I'm here to see you," I said honestly, my blue eyes meeting his.

Klaus was silent as he searched my eyes for something. Eventually, he nodded and held the door open for me. "Come in."

Without hesitating, I strode past Kol and into the original mansion.

_**~LG~**_

"So, may I take a wild guess and say that you're here for this?"

I turned around to face Klaus as we stood in his bedroom. It was cleaned up from when we had had made it a mess, during sex. My charm bracelet was dangling from his fingers, tinkling slightly as the metal charms knocked against each other.

"No, well yes, but no," I said, taking it from him and hooking it around my wrist. He frowned at me.

"Would you care to explain?"

I sighed and took a deep breath. "I'm here to talk about us."

"Ah," Klaus said, walking around me and towards a book shelf. "And what exactly is there to talk about?"

I frowned at him. "I don't know. It's not like you admitted you loved me after a hundred and forty six years and we had hot sex or anything," I said sarcastically.

"And then you snuck out while I was sleeping," he countered, turning around to face me.

"Because I was confused, okay?" I exclaimed. "You spend a hundred and forty six years hating somebody, and then have them confess their love for you and see how you feel. It can get pretty freaking confusing. And scary. It gets scary too."

"How is it scary, me loving you?" Klaus asked quietly, the fake indifference leaving his face.

"Because I'm supposed to hate you," I whispered. "I'm not supposed to kiss you, twice, or sleep with you. I shouldn't like hearing you tell me that you love me. and I shouldn't still have feelings for you, but I do. That's scary."

"And you think admitting to yourself that you're in love when you've convinced yourself that you're not capable of love isn't scary? You think it was easy for me, Elizabeth?" he asked, walking closer to me.

"No, I don't. I think it's a miracle that it happened," I said honestly.

"You make me weak," he whispered, leaning into me. my breath caught in my throat. "Are you happy? You bring out my _humanity." _He said it like a curse word, and I'd never know how hard it was for him to admit it.

"You say it like it's a bad thing," I said lightly, never breaking our gaze.

"It is."

"Everybody acts like having humanity is a bad thing- it's not. It's not a bad thing, to feel. I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all. it's wrong, to not feel anything at all," I said.

"It's easier," Klaus argued.

"but that doesn't make it any better," I said, and that was when I realized our lips were an inch apart. I gulped slightly, but made no move to back away. Klaus leaned in closer to me and our lips connected.

I allowed myself to forget that Klaus was the enemy, to forget about Jeremy, to forget about everything except that I did still care about Klaus. Hell, if I hadn't put up a wall around my heart to keep him out, I'd say that I loved him.

I kissed him back and placed my hands on his chest. I wouldn't let him get me to sleep with him again- I still had things to say. I pulled away from Klaus and took a deep breath. "I still care about you, Klaus," I said softly. "But you hurt me, and I'm not going to be able to forget that any time soon. Plus, there's still Jeremy."

A dark look passed through his blue eyes at the mention of Jeremy, but he forced himself to remain calm. "Give me a second chance, Elizabeth. Just one more chance to win you back," he asked, more like pleaded.

I sighed. Even with my feelings out in the open, it didn't give me the answers to my problems. "I don't know…"

"Just one chance," Klaus repeated. "If I can't win you back with that one chance, I'll let you go. I promise."

I sighed again and bit my lip. It was a big risk, giving him another chance. But Lily's earlier words came back to me. I couldn't let fear get in the way of potential happiness.

"So, do I get another chance?" he asked.

I took a deep breath and nodded, determined. "Yes."

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Elle, Pickle Paige, and RainySmithCullenSalvatore X for reviewing!

Reviews are inspiring!

~Abby :)


	52. threats

**Chapter fifty one**

threats

_Elizabeth_

Klaus and I had sex again. Like the last time, it was pretty great. Also like last time, we made a bit of a mess in his room. furniture was knocked over and clothes were ripped off of bodies. But unlike last time, I didn't sneak out in the morning.

I woke up before Klaus did, but instead of freaking out about what a mistake I made, I just pushed all thoughts out of my head and stretched my muscles. I closed my eyes again, and, despite the endless list of things against me at the moment, I felt pretty blissful. I had just had great sex, Klaus' bed was very comfortable, the silk sheets felt like heaven against my skin, and I honestly liked Klaus' company. I liked Klaus' company when he was the man I originally fell in love with, the man who honestly did care about his family in that twisted way of his, the man who still had some remnants of humanity in him. I didn't like the company of Klaus the Evil Hybrid. He was the one who I had been trying to kill.

I opened my eyes and smiled slightly at sleeping Klaus. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, but I wouldn't go as far as innocent. Everything Klaus has ever done had made sure that Klaus would never be innocent, not even in his sleep.

I ran a hand through his hair and kissed him lightly on the lips. His eyelids fluttered open and I smiled slightly at him as he woke up.

"You're still here," he said bluntly, sitting up.

"I am," I replied, lying back down.

"I expected you to be gone, like last time," he said casually, and for the first time I thought that me leaving before he woke up actually hurt him a little bit.

"And have another bitch fight with your sister? I don't think so. She doesn't fight fair," I said lightly, my fingers running down his shoulder and arm. I entwined our fingers when I reached his hand. There was still so much against Klaus and I, but I decided to indulge myself and pretend like the world outside this bedroom didn't exist.

"She never did like you," Klaus said thoughtfully and I frowned at him.

"Thanks for the comfort, Klaus," I said sarcastically and he rolled his eyes at me.

"You want me to lie to your face? Fine. Rebekah loves you," he said, and I rolled my eyes too. If there was one thing Klaus hadn't done to me, it was lie to me. he's compelled me, cheated on me, broken my heart, and killed me, but he hasn't lied to me.

"It's because she's Team Poppy," I explained, resting my head on his shoulder. He stiffened slightly, but relaxed eventually. Klaus wasn't used to being couple-y like this, not since I was human. But he was adjusting quickly, and wrapped an arm around my bare shoulders.

"If I ever see her again, I'll rip her heart out," he practically growled.

"She tortured me because she was jealous of how you felt about me," I said quietly as he played with my hair.

"I know. I should have seen it coming. I should've killed her before she had the chance to hurt you," he said quietly.

I softened at those words. "Well, you saved me before she burned me to a crisp, so I think that redeems you for not predicting Poppy's psychotic torture schemes," I said, closing my eyes and moving close to Klaus' warm body.

"I'm going to kill her," Klaus told me, sounding determined.

I had no doubt that he would. "Good. Break a few bones for me."

He chuckled and I closed my eyes. we stayed like that for a few more minutes, until Klaus broke the silence. "What are you going to do?" he asked quietly.

I knew what he meant. What was I going to do about us? I had my brothers aching to kill Klaus, my questionable love for Jeremy, the fact that half of his family hated me, Poppy, and just my general feelings about him against us.

"I'm going to give you a chance to win me back. and while you try to woo me, I'm going to sort we everything out," I said firmly. "But right now, we're not allowed to think about everything else, okay?"

"We're not?" Klaus sounded amused.

"Nope," I said, pulling away from him to look at his face. "It kills the mood, to think about everything against us."

Klaus chuckled again. "I love you, Elizabeth."

I smiled and rested my head on his chest. I would never get sick of hearing him say that. it made feel all warm inside. I didn't say it back, but Klaus knew that I wasn't ready. That even though I was giving him another chance, I still didn't trust him not to break my heart again. And I just knew that if he hurt me again, it'd be the end of me.

"I'll get you to say it back," he said casually, playing with a lock of my dark hair. "But I'll settle for you at least admitting that you care about me, for now."

I did. It was stupidest thing I've ever done, but I did care about Klaus still, a lot. My feelings for him never died. "It's kind of funny, how the roles are reversed this time," I mused. "You're the one saying 'I love you,' while I'm the one who just can't say it."

"But you will, eventually. I did," Klaus said confidently, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Maybe," I said vaguely, before I kissed him and our conversation ended and round four began.

_**~LG~**_

"I really need to get back to my house, Klaus," I mumbled for the millionth time. I knew that my brothers probably thought I was kidnapped again. Lily probably knew that I was in Klaus' bed, though.

"But I want you to stay," he mumbled against my lips, pinning me easily against his bed, his hands gently holding my arms above my head, but his grip was unbreakable.

I smiled slightly. I didn't want to leave either. I didn't want to leave Klaus' bedroom and then have reality crash on me. "I'm not exactly crazy about leaving either," I admitted, the only thing hiding my body from him was the soft sheet wrapped around me.

"Then we're in agreement- you're staying," Klaus said, kissing my neck.

I rolled us over so that I was on top. I kissed him fiercely before sitting up and getting out of bed. "I really have to go, Klaus. My brothers are going to worried about me," I insisted.

He sighed. "I don't think I even have to ask if you're going to tell them about us."

"Yeah, right. Because that's going to go over so well," I said sarcastically. "I'll tell them if and when you win me back. but until then, we're going to have to sneak around."

Klaus shrugged. "It does make the sex hotter," he said.

I laughed as I looked around for my dress. I frowned when I found it. It was wearable, but was pretty damaged. I slid it on, and the straps kept sliding down my shoulders because there was a four inch rip in the back of my dress.

"Next time, can you not literally rip my clothes off of me? I actually really liked this dress," I muttered, as I put my hair up into a messy ponytail.

Klaus smirked. "Sorry, love," he said, though he didn't sound sorry at all.

"I'll… call you, okay? We'll get together soon," I said, making my way to the door.

Suddenly, Klaus was in front of me, only wearing his pants from last night. he bent down to kiss me, and I was surprised by the gentleness of the kiss. "I love you," he told me softly, before opening the door for me.

I felt the sudden urge to say "I love you" back to him. I didn't, though. Because I didn't know if I meant it, and I knew that I still had a long way to go before I trusted him with my heart again.

"Do you need me to walk you out?" he asked as I walked into the hallway.

"No, I'm perfectly capable of finding my way out of this maze by myself," I said, turning right.

"Love?" Klaus called to me.

"Yeah?" I turned around to face him.

"Wrong way." He didn't bother to hide his smirk as he told me how to get to the front door. He kissed my forehead before I disappeared down a flight of stairs.

With Klaus' directions, it only took me five minutes to get out of the gigantic mansion. I didn't run into any of his siblings until I reached the foyer.

"Oh, goody. You're here again."

I sighed when I heard the sarcastic voice. "We're never going to be BFFs, are we Bekah?" I asked her sarcastically.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What are 'BFFs?'" she asked, confused.

Never use new age lingo around a vampire who was daggered in the 1920's. "Forget it." I sighed and turned towards the door. I really didn't want a repeat of Rebekah kicking my ass.

Suddenly, she was blocking my path. "Do we really have to do this again? Just let me leave, okay?" I said, irritated.

"You're just a pain in the arse to kill, aren't you?" I raised an eyebrow at her words.

"So I've been told," I answered coolly. I knew that she had probably joined Poppy in her quest to rip my heart out. I also knew that Klaus' love for me could only protect me so much from his siblings.

"Do yourself a favor and stay away from my brother," she said bluntly.

I raised my eyebrows. "I'd rather not, thanks," I said sarcastically.

Suddenly, I was slammed against the front door and Rebekah's nails were digging into my neck. "One of these days I'm going rip your heart out," she hissed. As if to prove her point, she shoved her hand into my chest. my eyes widened and I gritted my teeth in pain as her hand tightened around my heart. "Just one twist of my hand and you're dead."

"Just try not to get blood all over my dress. It's ruined enough with Klaus ripping it off of me. the last thing I need are blood stains to deal with," I said despite the pain I was in.

With a growl, Rebekah removed her hand and I gasped in relief. As the wound healed, she slapped me across the face and I went flying across the room. I was starting to sense that I couldn't leave this mansion after having sex with Klaus without getting my ass kicked by Rebekah.

"I'm only going to say this once. If you don't keep your slutty little hands off of Nik, you're going to die. Whether it's me or Poppaea who kills you has yet to be decided," she snapped, and I noticed the veins appearing under her eyes and her fangs extending.

"Rebekah."

I didn't know whether to be relieved or nervous to hear his voice. It meant that Rebekah wouldn't be killing me- at least not today- but then I'd have to face Elijah. And I could only imagine what he thought of me at the moment.

She glared at Elijah as he came to my side. "What?" she snapped.

"Leave her be," he ordered in a voice that was not to be questioned.

Rebekah looked ready to argue, but Elijah silenced her with a look. with one last glare at me, she left. I groaned softly as I stood up. I wiped my blood on my already ruined dress and made my way to the door. "Thanks," I muttered.

"Elizabeth, wait." I stopped, and turned around to face Elijah. I knew exactly what he wanted, but I still asked.

"Yeah?" I asked, biting my lip.

"I think you and I need to catch up," he said calmly. "After all, I believe that your stance on killing my brother has changed. Or maybe it hasn't."

I sighed. That was exactly what I was worried about, that Elijah would think that I'm some whore, still sleeping with Klaus even though I planned on killing him.

"No, it has," I said quietly. My eyes darted around, looking for any original vampire who might overhear us. "Let's talk somewhere where we won't be overheard."

I wasn't looking forward to talking to Elijah.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Lady Syndra, Paris101, purpleXorchid, RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, , anotheruntoldstory, and vampirelover for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	53. we don't choose who we love

**Chapter fifty two**

We don't choose who we love

_Elizabeth_

Elijah and I ended up in a small clearing in the middle of the woods, safe from anyone overhearing us. I chewed on my nails as he stared patiently at me, waiting for me to talk first. when it was clear that I wasn't going to, he sighed and spoke first.

"I see that you and Niklaus are, I assume, together again. Now normally I would accept that that is none of my business, but since you brought me back to help you kill him, you can see why I would like to know your plans, Elizabeth," Elijah said, his tone calm and business-like.

I sighed. "It's… complicated," I muttered.

"I see that," he said with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"I… I'm not planning to kill him anymore, Elijah. I'm not that kind of girl," I said, a desperate tone in my voice. I felt like he was judging me, and I wasn't doing a very good job of making myself look good.

"What kind of girl?" he asked, now fully raising an eyebrow.

"The kind that sleeps with the same man she plans to kill. The kind that leads him on," I said bluntly. "I'm not Katherine." Because those would be the kind of things Katherine would do, and I don't doubt that she has done them, probably more than once.

Elijah silently stared at me. "He loves you," he all but whispered. "It is no small task, making my brother love you, Elizabeth. I'm a little surprised that he didn't kill you because of it."

"Well, I think that I'm going to get killed because of it." I groaned and ran a hand over my face. My dress was covered in my blood and ripped beyond repair. I probably looked like I belonged in a horror movie.

"No, I don't doubt that people will want you dead because Niklaus loves you. In his own twisted, slightly unhealthy way, he really does." It seemed to really surprise Elijah, that Klaus loved me. I guess that he thought Klaus incapable of love, after he daggered all of his siblings. He wasn't denying it, though. "I can already think of two people off of the top of my head, maybe three."

"Poppy, Rebekah, and Kol," I muttered and then raised my eyebrows. "Why Kol?"

"I'm afraid that he and Niklaus held the same belief when it came to love and vampires. He will think Niklaus weak, now that he loves you," he explained.

I groaned again. Yet another thing against Klaus and I. I'd make a list, it'd just make me slightly depressed. "It's like universe is telling me that loving Klaus is a mistake," I muttered to myself. It was kind of funny, how I was voicing my problems to Elijah of all people.

Elijah looked like he'd rather not respond, but he did anyway. "Niklaus, a man I long thought lost the ability to love, to feel, to care, openly admitted to loving you. You, who openly admitted to loathing him after what he did to you, have found it in your heart to forgive him, just a little bit. Enough to admit that you still care about him. I've never been one to believe in signs from the universe, but it seems like, no matter what's put against you two, you always find a way back together," he said quietly, looking into the woods around us.

I frowned slightly at him, considering his words. there was some truth to them. Despite everything against us, Klaus and I still got back together, still care for each other. That was one way to look at it. "I'm not going to kill Klaus," I announced bluntly. "I can't do it. Even if we don't end up together, I can't kill him."

There a was beat of silence. "I thought as much," Elijah said.

My frown deepened. "You knew since the very beginning that I wasn't going to go through it, didn't you?" I asked.

"I did," he answered calmly.

"Did you even know of a way to kill Klaus?" I asked, suddenly suspicious.

"I did, but I found out a few days ago that it was a dead end," Elijah said, and I relaxed a little bit. At least he didn't plan to use me.

"In place of your help to kill Klaus, can I ask for another thing?" I asked. I might as well get something out of this deal.

"Yes, that seems fair," Elijah said, seeming wary.

"Don't tell Klaus that I originally planned to kill him. don't tell anyone," I said, serious.

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "If Klaus ever found out, he'd kill you, no matter how much he loves you."

"Which is exactly why I don't want him to find out," I responded.

"Then you have my word, Klaus will not find out about our old plan," he said sincerely. I bit my lip though; could I really expect Klaus to never find out about my old deal with his brother?

No. no I couldn't.

Still, I smiled politely at Elijah. "Now that we have this all straightened out, I have to go home," I said, then turned around to leave.

"Elizabeth, wait."

I stopped and turned around to face him with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"If it matters, you are nothing like Katerina," he said sincerely.

I barely had time to smile my thanks before he was gone.

_**~LG~**_

"You really need to stop disappearing like this, Lizzie."

I managed to change into jeans and a tank top before my brothers saw my dress. It would only fool their suspicions. I shrugged. "Can't blame a girl for wanting to have some fun," I said.

I was sitting on the couch while my brothers stood in front of me, yelling at me for disappearing again. Frankly, I felt like they were my parents, scolding me for breaking curfew.

Damon narrowed his eyes at me. "Can't you just have fun with Lily? Watch chick flicks and eat junk food? Does your kind of fun really have to be staying out for days at a time doing god knows what?"

I smirked at them. "If you two must know, I have a secret lover a few towns over. He's pretty good in bed, too." Not completely a lie, since my "secret lover" could be considered Klaus, and he was really good in bed.

Stefan made a face and Damon covered his ears with his hands. "I will _never _be able to unhear that," he muttered and I laughed. it really was fun, freaking them out like that.

"Relax, I was just joking," I said, propping my legs up on a table. "Really, you two need to loosen up."

"We were worried about you, Lizzie," Stefan told me. "For all we know, you could've been dead."

"You could've at least texted one of us, let us know that you're still alive," Damon added, glaring at me.

"You can't blame us for caring about you," Stefan said kindly, frowning.

"Next time you pull a stunt like this, I'm going to lock you in your room for a week," Damon growled.

"Mom? Dad?" Lily said sarcastically, walking towards us. "Before you take away her cellphone privileges, remember that Lizzie's not a child. She's a 162 year old vampire."

Damon glowered at her. "Last time I checked, there was a long list of people who wanted her dead," he said.

"And last time I checked, Elizabeth was more than capable of protecting herself," Lily retorted with a raised eyebrow.

Damon growled at her, and that's when I intervened. "Before you two end up having angry sex on the rug, does anyone care to know about my conversation with Elijah today?"

That shut all of them up. I took a deep breath. "Turns out that there really is no way to kill Klaus," I said, faking disappointment.

"_I knew it!" _Damon growled. "I told you Lizzie. you can't trust Elijah! He used you!"

"He didn't know when we originally made the deal," I defended him. "Plus, he warned me that his plan might fall through."

"Well, what do we do now?" Stefan said as Damon angrily paced the living room.

"I don't know what you guys are gonna do, but I'm gonna take a shower," I said, standing up. I walked up to my room, and that's when Lily tackled me to my bed.

"So? How did your conversation with Klaus go? good, I guess, since you were out all night?" she asked.

I laughed and pushed her off of me. "I've decided to give him another chance," I said, biting my lip.

Lily sighed. "Just don't get hurt again, Elizabeth," she murmured.

"I don't even know what I'm going to do, Lily. Everything is so… complicated. There are so many things that need to go away in order for Klaus and me to have a happy ending, and I'm not even sure if I love him still," I said, sitting down on my bed.

"Just take it one step at a time," she suggested, sitting down next to me. "Just give Klaus a chance, and take it from there."

I sighed and rested my head on her shoulder. "Why Klaus, Lily? Why him?" I whispered.

"We don't pick who we love, Lizzie," she said, soothingly smoothing down my hair. "It just happens."

I took a deep breath. Lily had managed to calm me down. "Now I really have to take a shower, Lily," I said.

Lily stood up to leave, but she stopped at the door. "Did Elijah really not know of a way to kill Klaus?" she asked curiously.

"Yes. Surprisingly, there is one thing that I haven't lied to my brothers about," I said bitterly, before going into my bathroom to take a shower.

After my shower, I had just changed back into my clothes, when my phone rang. "Hello?" I asked.

"_Pack your things love, we're going on vacation."_

My eyebrows shot up. "We are?" I asked Klaus.

"_Yes, we are. It's all a part of my plan to win you back," _he said.

"Where are we going?" I asked, curious.

"_You'll find out when we get there." _

I groaned. He knew I hated surprises. Klaus chuckled. _"Just be ready in ten minutes, Love," _he said before hanging up.

It only took me a second to make up my mind about going with Klaus. I quickly packed my bags and then left a quick note on my bed for my brothers. They were not going to be happy when they found out I was gone.

_Went to visit my lover._

_With love, Lizzie_

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Elle, Kelly, and Katerina The Von for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	54. everywhere

**Chapter fifty three**

everywhere

_Elizabeth_

_Mystic Falls, Virginia_

_1864_

"_Where do you want to go?" Klaus asked me as we stared up at the puffy white clouds in the sky._

"_Everywhere," I said firmly. "I want to see everything."_

_We both knew that this was impossible while I remained human, but nobody said anything about it. It would kill the moment. "The thing is, once you see everything there will be new things to see," he said._

"_Then I will see those things, and the new things after those. It is a never ending cycle, but I will see it all," I said confidently. _

"_Where do you want to go first?" he asked me, pushing a lock of hair behind my hear. My heart picked up speed at his touch, and I saw him smirk since he could hear it. _

"_Somewhere by the ocean. I want to see the ocean, go to the beaches," I said, closing my eyes._

"_Yes, you'll like to see the dolphins. You'd like France too, and England. I can take you to the art museums too." A small smile formed on Klaus' lips as he planned out our adventure, told me everything I had to see, offered to be my guide. _

"_Yes, you'll explain the art and I'll pretend to understand," I said and he chuckled. "Can we see your painting too?"_

"_You want to see my painting?" Klaus seemed surprised._

"_Yes, you have a painting in a museum somewhere in Europe right?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing._

"_Yes." He nodded._

"_Then I want to see it. I want to see it all!" I repeated._

_Klaus laughed at my grin and kissed me. "I'll take you there. I'll show you everything," he mumbled against my lips._

"Tell me!"

"You are the pushiest person I have ever met!"

"I thought you thought my pushiness is sexy," I countered.

"Right now it's just annoying. Though, granted, it's a little sexy too," Klaus admitted and I smirked.

"Where are we going?" I repeated for the millionth time, bouncing in my seat on the airplane. Klaus had gone to extreme measures to make sure that I didn't find out where we were going.

"You'll know when we get there," he answered, clearly agitated with me.

I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest like a child. Suddenly, an idea to get Klaus to tell me where he was taking me popped into my head. "If you tell me where we're going, we can have sex in the airplane bathroom," I offered with a seductive smile.

This seemed to tempt Klaus, but after a while he just shrugged. "I never understood what was so hot but airplane sex anyway."

I groaned, frustrated. He chuckled and I glared at him. "You know, you refusing to tell me where we're going is already killing the mood for this vacation," I said.

"I think you'll change your mind about that when we get there," Klaus said confidently.

I sighed again. "You're killing me." he just chuckled.

I must've fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew I was being shaken awake. "Wake up, love," Klaus said softly.

I groaned softly. My head was on Klaus' shoulder, but his shoulder made a good pillow. "Are we there yet?" I mumbled, sitting up.

"Almost. We'll be there in ten minutes," Klaus said as I rubbed my eyes.

"Are you going to tell me now or are you going to be a dick and keep it from me?" I muttered, still waking up. He chuckled again.

"Do you remember one of our conversations about seeing the world? When you were human?" he asked suddenly and I frowned.

"Which one?" I asked, confused.

"The one where you said that you first wanted to see the ocean, to go to the beach," he clarified.

My eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah, I think so. Why?"

"Because I'm taking you to see the ocean, Elizabeth," he said softly.

My eyes widened as the endless possibilities floated through my mind. So many islands, so many countries where we could see the ocean. Which one was he taking me to?

At my confused expression, he made himself even more clear. "We're going to Maui, love."

I broke out into a huge grin and through my arms around him. "Really?" I exclaimed. Hawaii was on my list of places to go to, and now I'd be going there with Klaus.

He chuckled again. "I take it that you don't mind?"

"Not even a little bit." I kissed him. his plan to woo me was working. Not because Klaus was taking me on an expensive vacation, but because he remembered one of our pointless conversations in 1864. It was so sweet of him, to take me to Maui.

"I love you, you know," he said quietly, when I pulled away.

"I-" I started to say, the words just falling from my lips before I could even stop them. But then the pilot announced that we were about to land, stopping any words that I didn't know I meant from coming out of my mouth.

I frowned slightly, thinking hard. I knew what I was about to say to Klaus, and I thought that he did too. Did I mean it, though? Or was it just an effect of his sweet gift to me?

I had a feeling that I would find out the answer to that during our trip.

_**~LG~**_

The first thing did when Klaus and I got to our hotel room was jump him.

Even though I was a baby vampire compared to him, due to the element of surprise, I still managed to pin Klaus to the ground. I kissed him again, and immediately removed his shirt. Klaus growled, not used to not being in control, and I giggled against his lips.

"Shh, just let me have my fun," I mumbled, straddling his waist and kicking away our bags. I shrugged off my jacket but made no move to take off my jeans and shirt. That was when Klaus decided that he wanted to be dominant.

He easily flipped us over and pulled off my jeans before I could even try to stop him. any protests about control fell from my lips when Klaus kissed my neck as his hands went under my shirt.

I moaned softly, deciding that Klaus being in control wasn't such a bad thing.

_**~LG~**_

"We should really work on not breaking things during sex," I said to Klaus my head buried in his chest.

"Why? It makes everything so much hotter." I could tell that Klaus was smirking as he played with my messy sex hair.

"Yeah, it does, but I'm just going to have to stop wearing clothes I like around you, because you always rip them off," I muttered, my eyes closed in content.

"Or you could not wear anything at all," he suggested and I laughed slightly.

"Wouldn't you like that?" I asked, sitting up and getting out of bed.

"Oh, you know I would." Klaus watched me sidestep a broken nightstand and walk towards the bathroom. "Where are you going?"

"To take a shower. You want to join me? it'll be fun." I smirked at Klaus, completely naked.

Before I knew what was happening, Klaus picked me up and ran us to the bathroom, shutting the door behind us with a click as our lips met again.

_**~LG~**_

"Where is Elizabeth?"

Damon was angry and worried. Elizabeth had run off again, and he had no idea where to. Stefan was worried too, but Lily wasn't worried nearly enough.

"Relax Damon, she's fine," Lily soothed him.

"How do you know?" Damon demanded.

"I just do. If I didn't, I'd be helping you and Stefan organize a search party for her," she said, before grabbing his hand and dragging him towards the front door. "Come on, you need a drink."

At the Grill, Lily managed to get him drunk enough to stop worrying about Elizabeth for the time being. Lily knew that Elizabeth was probably with Klaus somewhere, so she was being a good best friend and covering for her. Lizzie would no doubt be in so much trouble when she got home, though.

Damon's main focus turned to Lily and how fast he could get both of them back to the boarding house and out of their clothes. He had just kissed her when a haughty voice interrupted them.

"Oh, don't tell me you two are together."

Lily sighed and pulled away from Damon. "Go away, Rebekah," she said, glaring at the blonde.

She smirked and approached Lily and Damon. "I was just wondering if you knew where Elizabeth and Nik have run off to," she asked.

Lily's eyes widened in alarmed and Damon's eyebrows furrowed. "Why would Lizzie be with Klaus?" he asked confused.

Rebekah broke into a huge smirk. "You don't _know, _Damon?"

"Know what?" Damon was seriously confused.

"Let's go, okay? Rebekah doesn't know what the hell she's talking about," Lily said suddenly, standing up and tugging on Damon's arm. He didn't move though.

"Know _what, _Rebekah?" he repeated.

If possible, Rebekah's smirk widened. "Looks like dear Elizabeth has _a lot _of explaining to do."

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: vampgirl13, Katerina The Von, and dragonrain618 for reviewing!

Review :)

~Abby!


	55. enough

**Chapter fifty four**

Enough

_Elizabeth_

"_Where the hell are you?"_

"_Elizabeth, answer your phone. Now."_

"_I swear to God, if you don't call me back in five minutes, I'm going to hunt you down and rip out your spleen."_

"_Seriously Elizabeth, at least let me know that you're alive."_

"_This isn't funny anymore, Elizabeth. You're never allowed to leave home again."_

"_Elizabeth, enough is enough. You can't just leave a note saying that you're going to see your… lover and then take off. we're worried, okay? For all I know, you could be staked in some dark alley right now. Call me."_

Damon and Stefan had left me over a dozen messages, calling me every five minutes. I wasn't answering their calls intentionally, it was just that Klaus was keeping me occupied and I kept missing them. I had snuck out of our hotel room and was sitting on the beach, ready to call them back, when something occurred to me.

Damon and Stefan had called me at five minute intervals for the past hour, switching off. but they hadn't called me in two hours. Maybe they just gave up hope of me ever answering, but then I remembered how protective they were of me. they wouldn't of stopped calling until they knew I was safe. So why hadn't they called me in two hours?

I decided to text them. It would be the safest way to let them know that I was alive. _I'm alive, okay guys? I'm sorry I ran off like that. I'm with a friend, I'll be home soon. I love you both._

I put my phone away and laid down in the sand. It was cool and comfortable in Hawaii. The sky was cloudy and threatening rain, but I still stayed in the sand. I closed my eyes, enjoying the peace Hawaii had to offer.

I had a bad feeling about my brothers' sudden lack of phone calls, but there wasn't anything I could do from here. I trusted Lily would cover for me, because that was just what we did for each other.

I used that little moment of peace and quiet to sort through my thoughts. I knew that I had to pick between Jeremy and Klaus. I wouldn't be like Katherine and string both of them along- well, I'd only be stringing Klaus along at that moment, because Jeremy was with Mallory. But I had to choose which one I wanted. And it didn't matter that Klaus had the tendency to be an evil hybrid, or that Jeremy would probably be better off without me. I had to decide which one I loved the most, and then take everything else into the equation. Which meant that I had to figure out if I still loved Klaus.

I still had problems trusting him, giving him my heart again. I didn't doubt that he loved me, but just because you loved somebody didn't mean that you couldn't hurt them. If anything, it made it a lot easier to hurt them, and you could hurt them more. And I didn't think my heart would make it, if Klaus broke it again.

But I had to give Klaus another chance. Because, if he really was the one I was meant to be with, the one I would be happiest with, I would regret not giving him another chance because I was scared forever. And forever for a vampire was a very long time.

"So, this is where you ran off to."

I opened my eyes and smiled at Klaus as he sat down next to me. another thing occurred to me, another problem in our way. I had, until recently, been trying to kill him. that wasn't going to sit well with Klaus if he ever found out. That, and that I de-daggered his siblings.

"I was just letting my brothers know that I was alive," I said softly, my fingers digging into the sand. Suddenly, a question popped into my head and I blurted it out without thinking. "What would you do if I chose Jeremy over you?"

His answer mattered. I knew that Klaus the Evil Hybrid's answer would be "I would kill you both." Because he would rather me be dead than me be with another guy. Klaus was that selfish. But, I was selfish too. The idea of him being with another woman made me want to rip out both of their hearts. Our selfishness was just another thing we had in common.

"I would want to kill him," Klaus answered finally. "I would want to rip every organ from his body. But, I think… I would force myself not to. because, I really do just want you to be happy, Lizzie. And if he was what made you happy… it would kill me, to let you go, but I suppose that I would, if he was what truly made you happy."

I closed my eyes, and grabbed Klaus' hand. His answer was just another reminder that I would hurt him, break his heart even, if I chose Jeremy. Before, I would 've loved Klaus to get a taste of his own medicine. But now, I don't want him to get hurt.

My eyes opened and I smirked slightly at Klaus. "Let's go swimming." I pulled my hand away, stood up, and stripped off my shorts and tank top to reveal a purple bikini. Without waiting for him, I ran into the cold water.

It was a good thing that vampires didn't get cold, or I would've been shivering in the cold water. I came up for air and pushed my wet hair out of my face. "Come in!" I yelled to him, grinning. "I dare you."

Suddenly, Klaus' arms were wrapped around my waist, and my back was against his bare chest. laughed as he pulled me with him underwater. Before we even came up, I brought my lips to his. When we came up, Klaus and I were kissing, and my legs were wrapped around his waist.

I could think about all the problems in my life later. Now was a time to relax and have fun.

_**~LG~**_

"When are we going back?" I asked as I massaged Klaus' shoulders. I had him flipped over on his stomach and I was sitting on his back, one leg on either side of him. We had a deal that we would give the other massages. Then we would have hot sex, but that wasn't a part of the deal.

"Tomorrow," he answered and I sighed. I didn't want to go back.

"Can we stay longer?" I asked, rubbing his shoulder blades. It must've been stressful, being him. he had a lot of knots in his muscles.

Suddenly, Klaus flipped us over so that I was on my back and he was hovering over me. "I'm' sorry love, we can't," he answered, kissing my forehead.

I sighed again. "I like it here, though," I mumbled.

"We'll go to Europe next time," he promised. "I'll show you my painting."

I smiled slightly. "And I'll try not to fall asleep when you explain every single piece of art in the museum to me," I teased.

He smirked. "That's all I ask for."

Suddenly, I was sitting in his lap. Klaus started massaging my bare shoulders. The only thing I was wearing was my purple bikini top and shorts. I sighed blissfully, closing my eyes. I bet that my muscles were all knotted up too. It was stressful being Elizabeth Salvatore.

He kissed my neck suddenly, his hands still rubbing my shoulders and back. I smiled slightly, as his lips traveled from my neck to my jaw. To my cheekbone, my cheek, finally my lips. I turned around so that I was straddling his waist, and I kissed him back. I wrapped my arms around Klaus' neck, as his fingers slowly untied my bikini top strings.

I didn't want to leave Hawaii and leave how everything was simple with us here. one of my hands went to Klaus' damp hair and the other went to cup his cheek. My fingers gently traced his cheekbone, when he suddenly pinned me underneath him.

"I love you," Klaus whispered against my skin, as he kissed down my jaw, past, my neck, and stopping at my collar bone.

In Hawaii, that was enough.

_**~LG~**_

"Thank you, for taking me to Hawaii," I mumbled for the millionth time against Klaus' lips. We were standing outside of his mansion.

"It was my pleasure, Elizabeth," he said with a small smile, pulling away.

"I'll call you, okay?" I said, picking up my suitcases.

"I love you," he replied.

Again, I felt the urge to say it back, when my phone suddenly rang. I waved at him one more time before walking away. I answered my phone.

"Hello?" I said, a small smile still on my lips.

"_Do _not _come home, Elizabeth."_

My eyebrows shot up. "Lily?" I asked.

"_I've been calling you for two hours. Why haven't you answered?" _she asked.

"I've been on a plane," I responded. "Why shouldn't I come home?"

"_It's not my fault, Elizabeth!" _she exclaimed. _"I tried to keep them from finding out, really. I didn't expect her, though."_

"Lily, what are you talking about?" I sighed and shook my head. "I'll be home in a few minutes, okay?"

"_Elizabeth-"_

I hung up on her, wondering why my best friend was acting so weird. But as soon as I walked into the boarding house, I knew why. I really wished that I had listened to her.

Damon and Stefan were both standing stoically in the living room, Lily standing behind them, biting her lip. I instantly knew that something was wrong.

"Who died?" I joked, setting down my bags on the ground.

They were not amused. "So," Stefan started. "Where have you been for the past three days, Elizabeth?"

The fact that he hadn't called me Lizzie was another warning. "Just with a friend? Didn't you get my text?" I asked lightly, avoiding their gaze.

"I can't believe you," Damon growled suddenly, and I jumped slightly. "You're unbelievable."

"What did I do?" I asked, finally looking at them. I knew exactly what had happened, what Lily had warned me about. But I was so lost in post-vacation bliss that I had just ignored it.

"You know exactly what you did, Elizabeth," he spat. "You're back with Klaus. That's who you've been with all the times you were MIA. I can't believe that you would be _stupid _enough, Elizabeth."

I had a lot of explaining to do.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Elle, Katerina The Von, Paucccee, dragonrain618, RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, and Lady Syndra for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	56. a lot of explaining to do

**Chapter fifty five**

A lot of explaining to do

_Elizabeth_

_Mystic Falls, Virginia_

_1864_

"_Lizzie, come down from there."_

"_No," I replied stubbornly, crossing my arms over my chest._

"_You are going to be in trouble if Father finds you up there," Stefan tried again, standing below the tree I had climbed and was sitting in._

"_I will get down if Damon promises not to go to war," I said, playing with the necklace I was wearing. Damon had told me that he was going to fight in the war in three weeks, and I all heard was that he could die. So, I climbed a tree and refused to get down until he agreed to not go._

"_Lizzie…." Stefan sighed and a pained look crossed his face. "Do you think I wish him to go? I do not."_

"_Then get up here with me, Stefan. We can boycott his enlistment together, and then Damon will be forced to stay here," I said cheerfully. If only it were that simple._

"_It is because of conscription. Damon does not have a choice. He has to go to war," he explained._

_I bit my lip. I knew he was right, but I couldn't handle losing Damon. there was nothing else I could do besides sit up in this tree and refuse to come down, so that was what I would do. _

"_I will come down when Damon agrees not to go to war," I repeated, looking at the charm bracelet on my wrist. _

_I heard Stefan sigh. I expected him to walk away, to give up on me, but Stefan had other plans. I looked down at him as he started to climb the tree. "What are you doing?" I asked, frowning._

"_I am going to sit up in a tree with my little sister and we are going to boycott our big brother going to war," he said simply. He pushed himself up the tree, and then sat down on the branch next to me._

"_I don't want him to go either, Lizzie," he said quietly, squeezing my hand. _

"_I know," I whispered. We were about seven feet up in the tree, and we had a good view of our house and yard. _

_Stefan and I sat in silence, both thinking about the same thing. Losing Damon. no, it wasn't a possibility, an option. He was eldest brother, the most protective of me. he was Stefan's best friend. We couldn't lose him._

"_What are you two doing up there?"_

_Damon raised an eyebrow up at us. "We are boycotting you going to war," Stefan said casually._

"_By sitting in a tree?" Damon asked skeptically._

"_I admit, our boycotting location could have been better, but if it gets the job done…" I trailed off._

"_I will be fine, you two worry too much," Damon said dismissively. But I knew he was just putting on a brave face for us._

"_But what if you aren't, Damon? what if you come back in a-" I couldn't even finish my sentence._

_Damon's face softened, and Stefan squeezed my hand again. "Move over," Damon said suddenly, starting to climb the tree._

_He sat down on my other side. I was worried that the branch wouldn't be able to support all our weight, but it was a thick branch. "It is supposed to be an honor, going to war for the confederacy," Damon said suddenly. "I might actually bring some honor to our family for a change, instead of disgracing it. Father told me that I might actually make him proud for once."_

_I loathed my father at that moment. How could he saw that to his first born son? How could he not want to keep him safe from death? Keep him from becoming another casualty of the Civil War?_

"_If you die-" I couldn't even finish that sentence. _

"_I won't, okay Lizzie? I'll come back and then we'll go to our cave and Stefan can draw more terrible pictures of our family that makes us look like horses." Damon smirked at Stefan, who just rolled his eyes._

"_Promise?" I whispered, smiling despite the fear that threatened to swallow me whole._

_Damon smiled softly and squeezed my other hand. _

"_Promise."_

"I'm not stupid, Damon," I said, feeling as if he slapped me. I didn't expect anything less, though.

"Oh, really? Because you're back with the same guy who cheated on you, broke your heart, and killed you- not to forget that you've been tryin to kill him for a month now. That seems pretty stupid," Damon said, glaring at me.

"Says the man who spent 145 years in love with the woman who tore his family apart!" I snapped back.

Damon rolled his eyes. "That's different and you know it, Elizabeth. I've seen the light. I'm not after Katherine anymore. You're still caught in Klaus' web of pretty lies."

"At least he didn't choose Katherine over me!" I snapped back. I was bringing old issues into our arguments, issues I had long since buried.

"What are you talking about?" Damon said, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"You and Stefan both chose Katherine over me. you ignored my warnings about her, let her distance you from me- you chose Katherine over me," I repeated. "That's why I spent so much time with Klaus in the first place. Because I was lonely."

"Don't blame that on us," Damon growled.

"Don't call me stupid for going back to Klaus," I retorted.

"But you are, Elizabeth. You're stupid for giving him another chance," Damon said, looking like he wanted to break something.

"He loves me," I insisted.

Damon scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, right, because a guy has never said that to a girl to get her to sleep with him," he said sarcastically.

Stefan and Lily watched us fight, choosing not to intervene until completely necessary. Damon and I pretended like they weren't in the room. "He loves me, Damon!" I exclaimed.

"And you're even stupider for believing that!"

I picked up a nearby lamp and threw it at Damon. he just dodged it. "Call me stupid again and I'm going to stab you!" I growled.

"Then stop acting stupid!" he retorted.

I picked up a vase and was about to throw it at his face, when Damon had me pinned against a wall by my shoulders. "You throw another thing at me Elizabeth, and in swear to God-"

I cut Damon off by kicking him across the room. before Damon could retaliate, Lily and Stefan had come between us. "Enough. You two are acting like children," Lily said, her grip gentle yet firm on my arm.

"Why?" Damon asked me, Stefan holding him back. "Why did you go back to him?"

"Because I love him!" I shouted. "I love Klaus, and it doesn't matter all the bad things he's done to me in the past. I can't shake him."

Silence followed my outburst, and I knew how much it was true. I had just been fooling myself. Klaus had been right all along. I never stopped loving him.

"Yet, you were planning his murder not even three weeks ago," Damon shot back.

"I'm not anymore," I muttered quietly, a little shaken from my revelation.

But his words reminded me that I had, in fact, been trying to kill the man I love. My best defense for that was "love is complicated." My relationship with Klaus was the perfect example of that.

"Klaus or your family, Elizabeth?" Damon asked suddenly. "If it came down to it, who would you choose?"

The question caught me off guard. "I… I don't know," I muttered honestly.

"Wrong answer." Then Damon stalked out of the room.

I sighed and ran a hand over my face. Without looking at Stefan or Lily, I turned around and ran up to my room. I needed to be alone. But unfortunately, my thoughts was the thing who' company I couldn't shake.

Why did it matter to Damon who I loved in the first place? Who was he to judge who I loved? He loved Katherine, for god's sake. Who was he to make me choose between Klaus and my family? I loved both of them. I couldn't choose.

I knew that Damon just wanted what was best for me, and he was sure that Klaus wasn't that. But I didn't choose to love Klaus, it just happened. And even after a hundred and forty six years of hating him, I still loved him, through it all. I died loving him, and I came back loving him. Elijah was right- no matter what pushed us apart, we always found a way back together.

But would Klaus and I be able to survive him finding out about my plot to kill him?

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **a little short, sorry :(

Thank you to: RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, dragonrain618, Lady Syndra, and Katerina The Von for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :D


	57. love versus family

**Chapter fifty six**

Love versus family

_Elizabeth_

Days past without either of my brothers talking to me. Stefan just politely avoided me, while Damon pretended like I didn't exist, got drunk, and broke things. Lily tried talking to him, but Damon started pretending that she didn't exist too. This made Lily bitter and she broke Damon's bedroom door in retaliation.

Tension in the boarding house was so thick it was practically tangible. I spent most of my time trying my hardest to come up with the answer to the question that was always on my mind. Who would I choose? Klaus or my brothers? Love or family?

Before, it would've been a no brainer. Family. Always family. But… I just couldn't let Klaus go. it wasn't in me, it wasn't like with Jeremy. I didn't react well to letting him go, but I did, eventually. With Klaus, I just couldn't do it. I didn't know if it was because of my selfishness or because how much I loved him. it was probably a combination of both.

But my family was my family. They were always there for me, always. I would die for them, and they would die for me too. Blood was thicker than water. Could I really choose my family, my flesh and blood, over a man who had hurt me in the past, and who I had hurt once or twice too?

The truth was, I didn't want to let Klaus or my brothers go. I couldn't choose one over the other. My only hope was somehow convincing my brothers not to disown me for loving Klaus the Evil Hybrid. So I decided to start with the easiest nut to crack: Stefan.

I don't know how long I sat in the living room, in the dark, waiting for Stefan. I was silent, my legs crossed, staring blankly at a wall as I waited for him to walk into the room so that I could talk to/surprise attack him.

Finally, after what had to be hours, Stefan suddenly walked through the front door. He didn't even notice me, sitting in the dark. He even jumped a little bit when I spoke up.

"Can we talk?" I asked quietly, pushing my hair out of my eyes.

Stefan turned around to face me. "There's nothing to talk about, Elizabeth," he said a little coolly, before walking towards the stairs.

I flinched slightly. I realized then how much I took "Lizzie" for granted. It was a childish name, yes. It bothered the hell out of me, yes. But it was Stefan and Damon's pet name for me, something that expressed their affection, their love for me. I suddenly would've given anything for Stefan to call me "Lizzie" at that moment.

I suddenly blocked Stefan's path to the stairs. "Please," I begged desperately. "Please, Stefan. Lily won't talk to me- or anyone- and the only time Damon acknowledges me is to insult me. I can't deal with you ignoring me too."

Stefan sighed, but I knew he wasn't going to walk away from me. even after everything, I was still his little sister, and it was nearly impossible for him to say no to his little sister. "Five minutes, Elizabeth," he said finally.

I sighed in relief and then we walked over to sit on the couch. I turned on some lights, and resumed my earlier position of sitting cross legged. "I love Klaus, Stefan," I stated bluntly. "And I'm not apologizing for that. I can't help that I love him, it wasn't something I decided or chose. I fell in love with a Klaus that you'll probably never know, a Klaus that only shows up when he's with me. I fell in love with that Klaus a hundred and forty six years ago, and I never fell out of love with him."

Stefan took his time to respond. "If you loved him, why have we been trying to kill him for weeks?" he asked.

"Because it was easier to hate him, to wish him dead, than it was to admit I still love him, to forgive him," I said.

"What about Jeremy?"

I sighed. What about Jeremy? "All I know is that. even though I went ripper after I let Jeremy go, I still did. I let him go for his own good, yeah, but I still let him go. the thought of letting Klaus go… I can't imagine it. I don't think it's physically possible for me to let him go. I love him, Stefan. And it's like Jeremy doesn't exist, when I'm with him," I told him honestly.

It took a long time for Stefan to answer. "I can't be okay with you two being together, Elizabeth. I'm never going to be happy that you two are together," he admitted.

His words stung a little bit. "Then be happy for me, Stefan. Be happy that I have found the one for me," I insisted.

"What are you going to do if I can't, Elizabeth? If Damon and I honestly can't accept you two together? What if you're forced to choose between us and him?" he asked.

I bit my lip. "I don't know," I whispered. "And I feel like such a bad person, because I can't say my brothers. I just… I'm stuck, Stefan. Everything is so, so complicated, loving Klaus. There's Jeremy, and you guys choosing your back on me, and him finding out about my trying to kill him. I'm just stuck, and I don't know how to get out."

I closed my eyes, feeling exhausted. Suddenly, Stefan hugged me to him, and I rested my head on his shoulder. "Look Lizzie," he whispered. "I may not like you and Klaus together, but I will _never _turn my back on you when you need me. You are my baby sister and nothing will ever change that."

I shut my eyes tight. Stefan didn't know how much I needed to hear that. But we were the Salvatore siblings, Stefan, Damon, and I. we may fight and scream and hate each other, but in the end we'd always be there for each other, we'd all die for each other. And that's when it really counted.

_**~LG~**_

The next day, I found myself at the original mansion. I hadn't spoken to Klaus since we came back from Hawaii. Stefan and I were on good terms now, but Damon still hadn't spoken any words not sarcastic or mean since our fight. And Lily was just staying in her room all day and night, choosing to stay out of it.

I walked into the mansion like I lived there, not waiting for anybody to let me in. I was just about to walk up the stairs to Klaus' room when a voice stopped me.

"You haven't been around for a while. I was starting to think that you came to your senses and decided to stay away from Nik."

I sighed. Kol was exactly what I didn't need at the moment. "Well, I'm sorry to report that I have yet to come to my senses and I'm not going to stay away from Klaus." I turned around to face Kol, crossing my arms over my chest.

He studied my face for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing. "You do not look nearly as pretty as usual, Elizabeth," he stated.

I didn't know how to respond to that. "Gee, thanks," I said sarcastically. "You sure are a charmer, aren't you, Kol?"

He shrugged. "I'm just saying that you look… different. And not a good different."

"Yeah, I got that," I said dryly. "What the hell, though? Who says that? You don't tell girls that they look ugly. I swear, your died when Klaus daggered you."

"I didn't say ugly, I just said that you don't look as pretty as you usually do," he defended himself.

It was true, though. During my ongoing fight with my brothers- Damon mostly- I hadn't been nearly as focused on my looks. My hair was up in a messy ponytail, I wore sweatpants and a t-shirt, and the only thing close to makeup I wore was Chap Stick. I honestly felt like a hobo.

"Well, as complimentary as this conversation has been," I said sarcastically, "I really have to get going before my ego gets too big."

As I began to walk up the stairs, Kol stopped me. "Wait, Elizabeth."

I sighed again. "What?"

"Don't you want this?"

I turned around and my eyes widened at what was dangling from his hand. Kol's smirk was large, his eyes full of amusement. Another one of bras, blue with black lace, was in his hand.

"Give me that!" suddenly, I was in front of Kol and I ripped my bra from his hand. He chuckled as I marched away from him.

"What? Does this mean I get to keep your underwear?"

I turned around again. This time the matching thong was in his hand. "God, I hate you," I growled, taking it back.

He chuckled again. "It's not my fault you leave your underwear lying around." Then he was gone.

I sighed again and stuffed my bra and thong into my pockets. I walked up the stairs, and it took me ten minutes to get to Klaus' room. I knocked once and then walked into his room without waiting for a response. It was empty so I just jumped into his already made bed and waited for him to return.

I must've fallen asleep, because the next thing I remembered was getting shaken awake. "Elizabeth? What are you doing here?"

I yawned and I sat up. "Hey," I said casually, stretching.

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?" he repeated.

I shrugged. "I just felt like it," I said evasively. The truth was, I just needed him at that moment. I needed somebody completely and a hundred percent on my side.

He raised both eyebrows but I continued talking before he could ask exactly what happened. "Tell Kol to stop taking my bra and underwear," I mumbled, gesturing to my pocket where the black lace of my bra and thong was just visible.

He chuckled. "In his defense, you do leave them here."

I narrowed my eyes at Klaus. "I could just stop taking my clothes off here, so that I wouldn't get the chance to leave my underwear here. But that would mean we wouldn't have sex." I pretended to think about it for a few seconds before shrugging. "Oh, well. Small price to pay."

Klaus sighed. "Fine, you win Elizabeth." He laid down next to me and I rested my head on his chest.

I smirked victoriously and he chuckled. "I love you," he murmured.

I closed my eyes. Now was my chance. "I love you too."

Silence followed those four words. Silence in which Klaus thought he heard me wrong, thought I was just joking, and thought it was a lie. Silence that only last three seconds, but felt like three centuries.

"What?" he breathed.

I sat up so that we were face-to-face. "I love you, Klaus," I repeated.

"You do?" he looked so unsure and vulnerable at that moment that I fell in love with him even more.

"You know, for somebody who spent months telling me I loved him, you seem rather skeptical when I finally admit it," I said, a little amused.

Klaus shook his head slightly. "I don't deserve you, Elizabeth," he murmured suddenly. "I don't deserve your love, I don't deserve your forgiveness. I don't deserve anything from you."

I frowned at his outburst. That was the first time he said that. The only time he ever came close was the night he told me he was sorry for what he'd done to me, the night he admitted he loved me. Klaus didn't say it in a romantic way, he said it with complete honesty. I knew he meant every word.

But was it true? Was I any better than Klaus? He killed people, a lot of people. He could be cruel, he could let his emotions, his werewolf rage, get the better of him sometimes, which resulted in lives ending. He was selfish. He cheated on me, broke my heart, killed me. But was I any better than him?

I've killed people too. I've played mind games, tortured for fun. And I _liked _killing. I liked the power, the strength, the control it gave me. I was also selfish, and I planned to kill Klaus too. We've both done terrible things, both hurt each other. I wasn't any better than him, though. I wasn't something he didn't deserve.

"Don't think like that," I whispered, before kissing him softly.

I didn't care if my brothers thought I was too good for Klaus. Hell, I didn't even care if _he _thought I was too good for him. I wanted Klaus, and I wasn't going to let him get away just because he thought he didn't deserve me.

"I love you, alright?" I murmured when I pulled away.

He rubbed my cheekbone with his thumb affectionately. "I love you too, love," he said softly.

As he kissed me again, I felt more stuck between love and family than ever.

_**~LG~**_

Damon was drunk, as was per usual lately. Whenever Lily saw him now, she would glare at him or throw something at him. He knew that he had screwed things up with him, but he was too focused on his little sister being in love with Klaus. The same Klaus who sacrificed Elena to become a full-fledged hybrid, the same Klaus who killed Elizabeth, who did countless things to her.

He was so sure that if Elizabeth stayed with Klaus, she'd end up dead. Especially if he ever found out she de-daggered his siblings in order to try to kill him. No matter his claim to love her, Klaus would rip out Elizabeth's heart before she could even try to defend herself.

What hurt the most though, was that Elizabeth couldn't choose between Klaus and her family. The answer should've been obvious, it should've came without any thought. Family. Of course she should've chosen her family over Klaus. _I don't know. _Her true answer rang over and over in his head.

Elizabeth was the one who preached "family is more important than anything" like she got paid for it. She was the one who used to yell at him and Stefan for fighting, for letting Katherine tear them apart. Now she was also the one who was thinking about choosing Klaus the Evil Hybrid over her own family.

At the Grill, Damon drank straight from a bottle of whiskey. He knew that he had to clean up his act soon, or he'd lose Lily forever. But right now, all he wanted to do was to drown out his self-pity with strong alcohol.

"Well, well, well. You and Elizabeth just love to pity yourselves, don't you?"

He shut his eyes, as if the person the voice belonged to would go away if he couldn't see her. "Go. Away," he muttered.

"I take it that you didn't take your sister and my brother's relationship too well?" Rebekah said, sitting down next to Damon.

"Go away, Rebekah," Damon repeated.

"If I go away, who's going to help you plan our siblings' breakup?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Damon rolled his eyes. "By breakup, you mean Elizabeth's death," he said. Despite his cold treatment of her lately, he'd still die for his baby sister, he still loved her.

"Not necessarily," Rebekah said. "Sure, Poppy and I would prefer it, but all we really want is Elizabeth and Klaus broken up. I'd be willing to compromise."

"Oh, Poppy's involved? That makes me so much more willing to join your team," he said sarcastically.

"Damon, see the bigger picture," Rebekah said. "I know you know information that could break them up. I also know that you drink vervain by the gallons, so I can't compel you. I'm trying to do this the nice way, but I am more than willing to bleed the vervain out of your system so that I can compel you. It's your choice."

But Damon was only focused on the first part of her speech. Yes, he did know information that would break Klaus and Elizabeth up. And it wasn't the same information that would get her killed.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: kate, Elle, RainySmithCullenSalvatore X for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :D


	58. the bad decision

**Chapter fifty seven**

The bad decision

_Damon_

When Damon stumbled into the boarding house, it was dark and empty as far as he could tell. He was drunk, very drunk, but he still managed to make it up the stairs without tripping and landing on his face. He had a list of people to apologize to, starting with a woman who had done absolutely nothing and still gotten the cold shoulder from him.

"Lily?" Damon knocked on the door, and then leaned against it for support.

There was no answer, so Damon pounded on the door, causing it to crack. "LILY?" he shouted.

His phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket, and he answered it. "Hello?" he asked, a little confused in all his drunken glory.

"_Go away. I don't want to talk to you. Ever." _Damon heard Lily's voice through his phone and from her room. She sounded agitated, grumpy, and bitter. Which she had every right to be. She had done nothing except be a good friend to his little sister and he was still a dick to her.

"Please, Lil? I know I screwed up, okay? Just give me a chance to apologize," Damon leaned against a nearby wall for support. His words were slurred and he had a hard time getting them out through the fog in his head.

"_Are you drunk?" _She asked, exasperated and resigned at the same time.

"No! well, yeah. Wasted, actually." He smirked slightly when he heard her sigh.

"_Just go, Damon. We can talk when you're sober," _Lily said dismissively.

"Lily-" but she had already hung up.

Damon sighed again. Why were girls so damn stubborn? Why did they hold grudges for centuries? Why were they just so complicated in general?

He knew it would be smartest to leave, sober up, and then apologize to Lily, but in his drunken haze, Damon didn't hear the voice of reason in his head. All he knew was that Lily was pissed and he had to fix things if he didn't want to lose her forever. And Damon didn't want to do that.

Without even thinking before he did it, Damon grabbed the door handle to Lily's door and pulled. Without any effort, he took the door right off of its hinges.

Lily gaped at him as Damon casually tossed the door down the hallway. She was in short shorts and a tank top, her black hair up in a bun, revealing her angular face. Damon thought she looked sexier than ever, and that wasn't the alcohol talking.

She glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "What the hell?"

Damon shrugged as he leaned against the doorway, now without a door. "You broke my door, I'm just repaying the favor," he said easily.

"I broke your door because you were being a dick to me for no good reason," she defended herself.

"I know, Lily. And I'm sorry," he said honestly.

Lily pursed her lips. "It doesn't count when you're drunk," she said, though he could tell that she had almost completely forgiven him.

"I'm only a little drunk," Damon said, making the sign with his thumb and pointer finger.

Lily rolled her silvery gray eyes. "Really? Because you smell like you inhaled a liquor store," she said dryly.

Suddenly, Damon was right in front of her. Gently, he cupped her face with his hand, lightly brushing his thumb over her cheekbone. Lily relaxed under his touch, but she shook her head at him. "You're wasted, Damon. We can talk when you're sober again," she insisted, trying to pull away.

But Damon wasn't listening to her. "I love you, Lily," he said softly.

She stiffened, her eyes widening. But then she shook her head again and pulled away from him. "You're drunk, Damon. It doesn't count when you're drunk," she repeated.

"It doesn't make it any less true," he countered.

She sighed again. Despite her words, she couldn't help how warm and fuzzy those four words made her feel. _I love you, Lily. _They repeated over and over in her head.

"Aren't you going to say it back? say anything?" he asked after she didn't respond.

"We'll talk when you're sober, Damon. I'll say something when I know for sure that it's you saying 'I love you,' not the alcohol," Lily said, before laying down and patting the spot next to her. "Now, let's go to bed."

Damon laid down next to her and grabbed her hand. Lily smiled softly and squeezed his. "I think I did something bad, Lil," Damon said suddenly.

Lily's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"I made a bad decision," he continued.

Lily sat up and stared intently at him. "What did you do, Damon?" she demanded.

But Damon was already asleep.

_**~LG~**_

Damon woke up the next morning with a killer headache. He was in Lily's bed, he realized. He groaned and sat up, looking for her. He saw that there was no door in the doorway, and guessed that he had something to do with that.

Lily was sitting quietly next to him, legs crossed with two cups of coffee in her hands. She handed him one silently, and he took it. They both sat in silence as Damon tried to remember what he had done last night.

"Do you remember anything last night?" Lily asked after a few minutes of not speaking.

"Uh, I think I remember ripping your door out," he answered, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Do you remember... Anything else?" Lily asked, biting her lip.

"_I love you, Lily."_

Damon closed his eyes. He had told Lily he loved her. A drunken confession. A true drunken confession, but a drunken confession none the less. "I told you I loved you," he said casually.

If it was possible, Lily relaxed and stiffened at the same time. "You were drunk," she said quickly. "It doesn't count when you're drunk. I won't hold it against you."

Well, if you're applying that to everything, our first kiss didn't count. Hell, the first time we had sex only sort of counts then," Damon said, smirking slightly.

Lily frowned at him. "What are you saying?" she asked slowly.

"I'm saying just because I was drunk doesn't mean I didn't mean it," Damon told her softly. "I love you, Lily."

Lily's breath caught in her throat. "You do?" she whispered, eyes wide.

He nodded. "I do."

She bit her lip as she considered her next words. "I love you too."

It was one of those things that Lily didn't realize until the words were coming out of her mouth. She loved Damon, no matter how big of a dick he had the tendency to be.

Lily completely forgot about the bad decision Damon confessed to making last night, as he pulled her to him and their lips met. Despite being hungover, Damon didn't stop Lily from pinning him beneath her and taking off her already revealing outfit.

Half an hour later, Damon and Lily were naked and she had her head resting on his chest. "You said, last night, that you made a bad decision," Lily started suddenly. "What did you do, Damon?"

Damon sighed as he remembered what he had done. Elizabeth was going to hate him forever. Any chance he had of getting his baby sister to accept his long overdue apology might've died, with what he had done.

"I need to talk to Elizabeth," Damon said, sitting up. Lily frowned as Damon pulled on his pants and then walked out of her bedroom. What had he done?

_Elizabeth_

I rubbed my eyes as I walked into the boarding house. I hadn't done much sleeping, last night with Klaus. The only thing I wanted to do was to take a relaxing bath and then sleep until 2030. I'd do it at Klaus' mansion, but I knew that I'd never get much sleep done there.

As I made a detour to the kitchen to get a glass of blood, a voice that I hadn't heard in a week caused me to stiffen. "Elizabeth."

I turned around to see a shirtless Damon with a sex hair staring down at me, mixed emotions in his eyes. "Damon," I whispered, breathless. I wanted to believe that he had finally gotten over my love for Klaus, but I didn't want to get my hopes up.

"We should probably talk," Damon said and I nodded. I grabbed my glass of blood and then followed him to the living room. I sat down on the couch while Damon busied himself with getting a glass of bourbon.

I frowned at him. He reeked of alcohol. "Are you hungover?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yep. So I'd appreciate it if we used our inside voices," he said.

"Then why are you drinking even more?" I asked, confused.

Damon smirked at me. "Didn't I teach you anything, Lizzie? The best way to counter a hangover is to get even drunker."

_Lizzie. _It was exactly like it was between us before my love for Klaus drove a wedge between us. I was glad that that old easy relationship hadn't completely died. "Yeah, I remember. And that method only causes alcohol poisoning. Getting your stomach pumped is not fun, Damon."

He chuckled before sobering. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth," he muttered, before tossing his bourbon back.

I frowned at him, but Damon just continued. "I'm not okay with you and Klaus, but I don't want to lose you because of it. So I've decided to just let you two be save for smartass comments every now and then."

"Really?" I asked, believing it almost too good to be true.

He nodded. "I was being a dick to both you and Lily, and I'm sorry for it," he said honestly.

I nodded to his sex hair. "I take it that she forgave you. Unless there's some blond bimbo up in your room, in which case I'd kick your ass into the next century."

He smirked at me. "No, I slept with Lily. We're in love now, Lizzie."

My eyes widened. "You are?" I broke into a huge grin. "I call being maid-of-honor at your wedding."

Damon just rolled his eyes at me, choosing not to respond to that. Then his expression quickly turned serious. "I did something last night, Elizabeth. And I'm so sorry, you just need to understand, okay?"

I frowned and him, my eyebrows furrowing. "What did you do-"

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, cutting me off. I frowned once more at Damon before going to answer it. "Now's really not a good time-" I started to say as I opened the door. But then I saw who was behind it and my jaw dropped.

"Jeremy?" I whispered. "What are you doing here?"

He stared intently at me. "You compelled me to forget that we were in love?"

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **any guesses at what Damon did? I was hoping that this chapter would redeem him a little bit. I know people were pissed at him, but what you have to understand is that he and Stefan weren't going to be overjoyed about Klaus and Elizabeth. It would be OOC if Damon was just okay with them being together and offered them his blessing.

Thank you to: Elle, Katerina The Von, Lady Syndra, and AutumnGirl104 for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :D


	59. the choice

**Chapter fifty eight**

The choice

_Elizabeth_

I stared blankly up at Jeremy. "What?" I asked dumbly.

Jeremy stared hardly down at me. "I know you compelled me, Elizabeth. I know you're a vampire and that you compelled me to forget that we're in love," he repeated.

My eyes widened as it final sunk it. Oh. Shit.

I slammed the front door shut in Jeremy's face, and locked it so that he couldn't come in. I took a deep breath, feeling a panic attack coming on. Then I looked back to the living room and my face went hard. I had a feeling about how Jeremy found out about me.

I marched back into the living room and glared at Damon like he had just killed my cat. He raised an eyebrow at me, but his blue eyes were knowledgeable. He knew I knew what he had done. Still, he played dumb.

"So, who was at the door?" he asked casually, taking a sip out of the bottle in his hand, full of bourbon or whiskey or scotch- something strong.

I grabbed the bottle from him and smashed it over his head. Damon cursed it pain as I dropped the remains of the bottle to the ground. Blood and alcohol dripped down his forehead and Damn wiped it away.

"Ow, that hurt," he muttered, as his bottle inflicted wounds healed.

"What the _hell _did you do, Damon?" I demanded through gritted teeth, crossing my arms over my chest. "You have five seconds to explain before I find another bottle."

He sighed. "In my defense, I was drunk and angry. Never a good combination."

"Five, four, three-" I started counting, but he cut me off.

"Alright!" Damon sighed again. "I told Rebekah, okay? I told Rebekah all about you and Jeremy. About how you were in love and then you compelled him to keep him safe from Klaus. That's all I did Elizabeth, I promise."

If anything, my glare gained intensity. "Why? What would possess you to do such a thing?" I asked, trying my best to keep calm and not smash my brother's head in with a bottle of whiskey.

"So that you would leave Klaus for Jeremy," Damon answered, like it was obvious. It was, and I shouldn't of even had to ask.

I was clenching my teeth so hard, my jaw was starting to hurt. "What exactly did Rebekah do?" I asked, wondering if I could reverse it. Probably not, since she was an original and a lot stronger and more powerful than I was.

A part of me was wondering why I would even want to reverse whatever Rebekah had done. If I hadn't loved Klaus nearly as much as I had, I wouldn't have. It was the perfect way to get Jeremy back- Klaus had even said in the past that he wouldn't kill Jeremy if I chose him. It was exactly what Rebekah and- undoubtedly- Poppy and –surprisingly- my brother had wanted to happen. Yet I was still wondering if I could just compel Jeremy to forget everything he had just learned.

"She undid your compulsion and then told him about vampires. I'm guessing that she used more compulsion, to make the vampire bomb settle better, but I'm not sure. I wasn't there. I went home after I told her about Jeremy," Damon told me.

There was silence as I thought about what I should do. It would be better for Jeremy if I made him forget all about vampires, but I owed him a few answers first. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth," Damon said quietly. "I shouldn't of told Rebekah anything."

I sighed. "Even after you said all that crap about accepting who I loved, you were still hoping that her plan would work, weren't you?" I asked him.

"Hell yes," he said bluntly, raising an eyebrow. "It was a bad decision on my part, telling Rebekah about Lover Boy, but if it makes you choose him over Klaus, I won't regret a thing."

I sighed again. At least Damon was honest.

"But," Damon continued. "I'm not going to let something as stupid as your bad taste in men break us up again." He smirked slightly but his eyes were soft.

Could I hate Damon for telling Rebekah about Jeremy? He shouldn't of done it- even he admitted that. But Damon had been drunk and angry at the time, and I could understand his lack of self-control. I did stupid things when I was drunk and angry too.

Damon sincerely apologized for telling Rebekah about Jeremy. And in the end, my brothers wanted me to be alive and safe above everything else. They'd put my safety in front of my happiness any day of the week. And they thought that there was less danger in a sixteen year old human teenager than there was in a millennium old original hybrid. Which there was, of course. I had just gotten my brothers back, too. I really didn't feel like losing them again. I had to forgive Damon.

"I'm going to continue being pissed off at you while I go clean up the mess you and Original Barbie made," I said to Damon, walking towards the front door. "But I'll be over it by the time I get back."

"Fair enough," he said, already looking for more whiskey.

When I reached the front door, I took a deep breath. I needed to calm myself down before confronting my ex-boyfriend. Then I opened the front door.

Jeremy was still at the door, only he was leaning against a wooden beam. I raised an eyebrow when I saw him. "I'm surprised you didn't leave," I told him casually, playing with the locket around my neck. Then it felt wrong, touching something Klaus had given me while I was with Jeremy. I quickly pulled my hand away, like the locket had burned me.

"I just found out my ex-girlfriend is a vampire and used her freaky mind control to make me forget we were in love- I'm not going anywhere until I get some answers," He said. Jeremy seemed pretty calm, being around me, which made me think that Rebekah had compelled him not to be afraid.

"Technically, we were never officially 'in love.' You never really told me you loved me, and I only said it once before I compelled you," I pointed out.

He gave me a look. "So not the point, Elizabeth."

I sighed. "You're right. We need to talk."

"Badly."

I looked up at my human ex-boyfriend and raised an eyebrow. "Want to take a walk with me?"

_**~LG~**_

"So, basically all the rumors surrounding vampires are false?" Jeremy asked as we walked through town together.

"Not all of them- we burn in the sun and we need to get inside houses. Wooden stakes kill us too. But yeah, holy water is drinkable, garlic eatable, Coffins are uncomfortable, crosses are tacky, and we show up in mirrors and pictures," I said.

"You don't sparkle?" Jeremy teased.

My nose wrinkled. "No _Twilight _jokes."

His eyebrows suddenly furrowed. "But you can walk in the sun,. You are right now."

I held up my hand, flashing my ring. "Daylight ring. Made by witches for vampires. They protect us from the sun."

"Witches are real too?' his brown eyes widened.

"Yep. So are werewolves and hybrids," I said with a small smirk.

"Hybrids?"

"Half vampire, half werewolf. Hybrids," I explained, before frowning. Thinking of hybrids made me think of Klaus. I had thought about Klaus a lot during my walk with Jeremy.

We walked in silence for a few moments. "So, Klaus was the guy who turned you?" Jeremy asked quietly.

I sighed. There was no avoiding Klaus. "Yep."

"And he's the reason you compelled me?" Jeremy continued.

"Yep."

"And you still love him?"

I paused and looked up at Jeremy. "Yep."

I barely saw him flinch. "Do you still love me?" he asked in a low voice.

I bit my lip. "I don't know, Jeremy."

He sighed. "I still love you, Elizabeth."

I exhaled sharply. He was making everything so much more complicated, so much more harder on me. "Just give me another chance," Jeremy continued.

He grabbed my shoulders, stopping us in the middle of the sidewalk. "He got another chance, why don't I?" he asked.

Because it was such a Katherine thing to do, string both of them along. I wasn't going to do that, switch off guys. Have Jeremy during the week days, and then hook up with Klaus on the weekends. That was such a Katherine thing to do. And I wasn't Katherine.

"I could give you a thousand reasons why we shouldn't be together," I told Jeremy quietly.

And I could give you a thousand reasons why you shouldn't be with Klaus," he countered.

He probably could.

I sighed again. "It's not that simple, Jer-" But Jeremy cut me off with his lips.

I wasn't one of those hopeless romantics who thought that the Fourth of July should happen during a kiss. But there should be sparks, there should be passion. You should feel _something _while kissing somebody.

And when I kissed Jeremy, I felt absolutely nothing.

I pulled away and frowned up at Jeremy, a little confused. We used to have sparks, have fireworks go off. Jeremy was a good kisser, and I thought I was too. But nothing happened when I kissed him. I felt nothing. It was like kissing my pillow.

I stretched up and kissed him again, but I still felt nothing. Our sparks were gone, our romance was dead. I wondered what had happened to make it so.

But I knew the answer. Klaus had happened. I also knew that things would never be the same between Jeremy and I again, because of Klaus. Loved Klaus too much. It would always be Klaus.

Jeremy sighed, looking at my reaction. "I'm not going to get another chance, am I?" He asked.

I shook my head. "No. You're not."

He sighed again. "I never stood a chance against an ancient original hybrid, did I?"

I hugged Jeremy tightly. "I'm sorry Jeremy. Really, I am," I told him. "At least you still have Mallory."

He hugged me back for a few seconds before pulling away. "Yeah, I guess I do. But Mallory's no Elizabeth."

And then Jeremy walked away from me. And I let him.

_**~LG~**_

Instead of going back to the boarding house after my walk with Jeremy, I went to the original mansion. I found it only fair that Klaus knew of my choice. Him.

"Oh, joy. You're here. Again."

I sighed when I heard Rebekah's voice. I was halfway up the stairs to Klaus' room. I seriously couldn't go to see Klaus without running into Kol or Rebekah and starting drama. It was like they waited for me to show up.

Rebekah looked smug, though. I smirked at her from the stairs. "Hey Bekah," I said cheerfully, causing her to frown.

"Why are you so happy?" She asked suspiciously.

"I just had the nicest conversation with my ex, Jeremy. Really eye opening," I said in the same cheerful tone. "Want to hear what I figured out?"

Her eyes narrowed. "What?"

"I love your brother and nothing is going to tear us apart again," I told her seriously. "And especially not you."

Rebekah glared at me. but before she could rip my liver out, Klaus was in front of me, protecting me. "Leave, Rebekah. Don't make me hurt you," He said in a dark tone.

She glared at us again. "You're pathetic Nik. _She _makes you pathetic," she spat, before leaving, her heels clicking against the tile.

Klaus turned to face me. "What are you doing here?" he asked me in a much softer tone.

"I have something to tell you," I told him, before grabbing his hand and pulling him towards his bedroom.

"Is it you love me and nothing is going to tear us apart again?" he asked, amused.

I smiled. "Yeah, actually."

I stopped us in the hallway and kissed Klaus. Sparks flew. Fireworks went off. Hell, I'd say the Fourth of July happened too, but I wasn't a hopeless romantic. Klaus kissed me back, before pulling away with a frown.

"You smell like him," He said, his blue eyes darkening. "Gilbert."

I sighed. "I know. I saw him today."

Klaus growled but I grabbed his face with my hands and forced him to look me in the eyes. "No, it's a good thing, Klaus," I assured him. "It's a good thing for us."

"How?" he asked. His eyes still dark.

"Because I realized that it's you," I told him, smiling softly. "I love you, not Jeremy. Not anymore. Not like I love you."

His eyes softened, like he couldn't comprehend what I had just told him. so I kissed him again to prove my point.

Jeremy was no longer a factor between us, neither were my brothers. Rebekah was more of a nuisance at that point. Who the hell knew where Poppy was. But there was still one thing between Klaus and I. My old plot to kill him.

That was going to bite me in the ass soon.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Katerina The Von, RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, kate, Lady Syndra, AutumnGirl104, Elle, AnotherHopelessRomantic.X, and dragonrain618 for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :D


	60. sibling bonding day

**Chapter fifty nine**

Sibling bonding day

_Elizabeth_

My problem: I had an old plot to kill the man I loved, and if he ever found out about it, I couldn't even imagine the repercussions.

Maybe he would kill me. Maybe he'd kill my family. Maybe he would decide that he didn't love me anymore. Maybe he'd do all those things. The possibilities really were endless.

I had two options. Option one: I could ignore my old plot to kill Klaus, pretend it never existed, and go on being happy with him. I could hope and pray that he would never, ever find out.

Option two: I could tell him about the plot myself. Even as I thought it, the idea sounded crazy, suicidal. How would I even go about telling Klaus that I had de-daggered his entire family in order to kill him, barely a month ago? How would I manage to say that to him? What could I say? "Funny story, I had this plot to kill you, once upon a time. And I was the one who de-daggered your siblings. It was all a part of my plan. I didn't even call it off that long ago. Wanna have sex now?" There was no good way to tell him, no way to insure his werewolf rage won't get the best of him again, and he won't rip my heart from my body right then and there. Klaus loving me didn't even insure my survival. He loved his family, and that didn't stop him from killing them too.

Still, Klaus would react better to hearing the news from me. That way he wouldn't think that I was still trying to kill him. And I knew, deep down, that I would never be able to keep my plot to kill Klaus a secret from him for the rest of eternity. I'd feel too guilty after a century or two. I wouldn't be able to look him in the eyes eventually, and the truth would just come out, because I sucked at keeping secrets from people I loved for long periods of time. The longer I kept this from Klaus, the worse it would be for me.

But there was the chance that I wouldn't get the chance to blurt out the truth. Too many people knew about my plot to kill Klaus, and too many were suspicious. Kol knew that something had been going on between Elijah and I, but for all he knew we were just having a secret love affair behind Klaus' back. If Rebekah ever found out, that would mean that Poppy would find out, since they had some secret friendship based on killing me. And I could only imagine what they would do with that information. They would probably torture me with the information before telling Klaus. Poppy always did love watching me squirm.

But, unfortunately, the guilt that was already settling in on me wasn't my only problem. Even though Damon and Stefan had forgiven me and I had forgiven Damon, there was still something off. It wasn't the same between us, things had changed. There was a tension in the air, a tension I would give anything to make go away. I was starting to worry that it would never go away.

So, instead of focusing on my Klaus problem, I focused on my family problem. It was easier and much less complicated of a problem to fix. It also didn't have life threatening consequences if I didn't take care of it right. That was why I focused on fixing things with my brothers first.

"Let's go," I said suddenly, walking into the living room where my brothers were. They both raised their eyebrows at me.

"Go where?" Damon asked.

"Didn't you get the memo? It's sibling bonding day." I smirked slightly.

Damon sighed. "Well then, I'm going to need alcohol," he said.

"Which is exactly why sibling bonding day takes place at a bar." My smirk widened.

Damon smirked too. "Then there's no reason to put up a fight." He stood up and went to get his jacket.

I started to walk away, when I realized that Stefan was still frowning at me. "What?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"Why are we having a 'sibling bonding day?'" he asked.

"Because we need it," I told him seriously, crossing my arms over my chest. "It's not the same, Stefan. Our family, it's not like how it used to be. There's a tension between us, all of us, and It's going to smother us all if we don't fix it."

"There's no-" Stefan tried to say, but I cut him off.

"Yeah, there is. There's tension. You know there is," I said.

"Lizzie's right."

Stefan and I both looked behind me to see Damon, looking serious. "She lied to us, you gave her the silent treatment for a week, and I went behind her back. Now things are complicated and messed up. I doubt that getting drunk at some dive bar is going to fix anything, but hey, it's worth a try," he said, before turning his back on us and walking to the front door.

I frowned at Damon. He was skeptical that we could ever go back to the way things were before. That made me sad, the idea that Damon, Stefan, and I would never be as close as we used to be. Would we eventually just drift apart, sending word to one another every couple centuries to let the other know that we were still alive? God, I hope not.

But that was why we were going to get drunk at a dive bar, so that that wouldn't happen. I didn't care if Damon was skeptical or if Stefan refused to admit that there was tension. I wasn't going to let our family drift apart.

_**~LG~**_

"Come on, I dare you."

"It's peer pressure, Stefan. Give in to the peer pressure."

"Don't be a wimp. Just do it."

"We did it- now it's your turn."

"Alright!" Stefan glared at Damon and I, licked the salt off of the back of his hand, tossed back a shot of tequila, made a face, and then bit into a lime. "Happy now?"

"Very." I smirked and reached for my shot. Damon and I had spent the last five minutes pressuring Stefan to do a shot of tequila.

"I don't think so." Damon grabbed the shot out of my hand and I glared at him.

"Hey!" I tried to take it back, but Damon had already licked salt off of his wrist, tossed the tequila back, and was biting into his lime by the time I had grabbed the empty shot glass from his hand.

"One shot of tequila is your limit, Lizzie," he told me.

I glared at him again. "Are you saying I can't handle my liquor?"

"I'm saying that you can't handle your tequila," he corrected me. "If you exceed two shots, you're going to end up dancing on the bar, half-naked."

I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest childishly. Secretly, I was glad that Damon had taken my shot away. It was something that overprotective Damon would've done. It meant that things could possibly be like they used to.

"Stefan, on the other hand," Damon continued, pouring another shot of tequila, "Needs as much alcohol as we can force into him."

Damon slid the shot over to Stefan and Stefan sighed. "Are you guys on a mission to get me wasted or something?" he asked.

"Yep," Damon and I said at the same time. I signaled the bartender for a glass of rum and coke, while Damon just reached over and grabbed a bottle of bourbon.

"Okay, you have a choice, brother. Bourbon or tequila?" he asked, pouring a shot of bourbon.

"Do bourbon," I told him. "It can seriously mess you up, but tequila is evil. Seriously, it's made of the essence of evil and the devil's tears. It's evil."

Stefan sighed again, but tossed back the shot of bourbon. I sipped my drink as Damon poured him another shot. Stefan frowned at him. "Seriously?"

"You need to get drunk, Stef," I told him. "You need to relax. Being that uptight all the time has to get tiring."

Stefan glared at me while Damon chuckled. "Couldn't of said it better myself, Lizzie," he told me, before pushing the shot towards Stefan. "Drink."

Half an hour later, Stefan was "unable-to-stand-on-two-feet" drunk. I frowned at my older brother as he talked to the bartender, his words slurring and running together. The bartender, a young redheaded girl, watched him, a small pitiful smile on her lips. She looked at Stefan like he was a pathetic puppy.

"Maybe we shouldn't of gotten him so drunk," I said to Damon.

He shrugged. "Don't worry, I'll watch him. We'll get him home in one peace. He's going to hate us tomorrow though."

"He's going to hate _you," _I corrected. "You were the one pouring him shots."

"You didn't exactly stop me, Lizzie," Damon retorted.

I nodded in agreement and took a sip of my drink. Damon and I sat there for a few minutes in silence. I was just about to suggest that we get drunk Stefan home, when Damon broke the silence first.

"You know I'm sorry, right? About telling Rebekah about Jeremy? I'm sorry," he insisted, looking suddenly sober and serious.

I nodded. "I'm sorry too, Damon. I lied to you guys too many times about Klaus. And I didn't do it because of honorable reasons either, like to protect you guys. I did it because I didn't want you guys to think badly of me, to turn your backs on me," I admitted.

Damon was silent. "I think- I think I just need to accept that you're not Lizzie anymore," he said quietly. "You're not a kid. You're a hundred and sixty two year old vampire who's in love with an evil hybrid. And that's so hard for me to accept, Elizabeth. You're my baby sister, and, I admit, I have the tendency to be a bit overprotective-"

_A bit? _I thought, but I didn't say it out loud.

"-And I think that's why I'd rather you be with Gilbert than Klaus. Other than the fact that Klaus is an evil hybrid, Jeremy is safer than Klaus. And it's easier to pretend that you're just a kid when you're with him. But you're not, Elizabeth. And I have to stop treating you like you are."

I frowned. I didn't want him to stop treating me like a kid, I realized. Not nearly as much as I should've. Despite how much I complained about it, I _liked _Damon and Stefan treating me like their baby sister. I liked them calling me "Lizzie" and being so overprotective of me it was suffocating. That was how I knew they cared about me, that they loved me. Besides, it reminded me of being human, and I missed being human.

"Don't act so excited, Lizzie. You might pull something," Damon said sarcastically.

I sighed. "I guess- I guess I don't really want you to treat me like an adult," I muttered, throwing back the rest of my drink.

Damon raised his eyebrows. "Correct me if I'm mistaken, but don't you always whine about how you're not the six year old we treat you like?"

I sighed again and shook my head. "Don't ask why, I just don't want you to treat me any different. I really don't."

Damon smiled slightly. "Don't worry, Lizzie. Even if I do somehow manage to stop treating you like the six year old I will always see you as, it won't mean that you're not my little sister anymore. You'll always be my little sister, and I'll always love you."

I smiled. At that moment, I knew that my brothers and I would be okay.

_**~LG~**_

"What did you guys do? Force him to inhale a liquor store?"

Lily frowned at us as Damon half-dragged, half-carried Stefan upstairs to his room. Stefan was unconscious, having passed out on the car ride home. If Stefan wasn't a vampire, he probably would've died from alcohol poisoning.

I shrugged my shoulders. "We figured that Stefan needed to relax and have a few shots," I said casually.

Lily's frowned deepened. "How many shots did you give him?"

"I lost track after twenty."

She groaned. "You are so lucky that he's a vampire, Lizzie," she told me. "He's going to have the worst hangover tomorrow."

I smiled slightly. Stefan was going to hate me and Damon in the morning. "So, how did sibling bonding day go?" she asked as we walked into the living room and sat down on a couch.

"Good," I said. "My brothers and I are good now."

Lily continued to frown at me. "Then why do you look so stressed out, Elizabeth?"

I sighed. "I don't know what to do about Klaus."

"Oh." Lily raised her eyebrows. "Did you two get into a fight?"

I shook my head. "I 'hadn't talked to him since I told him I chose him over Jeremy. I'm talking about my old plan to kill Klaus. I don't know what to do."

Lily's eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah, that's a problem."

"What do I do, Lily?" I groaned, I putting my head in my hands.

"I don't know. I really don't think that there's a good choice when it comes to this. You could always hide your plot from Klaus, but if he ever finds out, his reaction is going to be a lot worse. And I honestly think that he's going to find out sooner or later," Lily told me.

I sighed again. I regretted trying to kill Klaus so badly. I had been stupid and foolish and reckless and impulsive. I had been confused about my feelings for him. If I could just explain that to Klaus, maybe he would understand. Because I wasn't just scared of dying, I was scared of losing Klaus.

"I'll see you later, Lily," I said, standing up. I knew what I had to do.

Lily frowned as she watched Elizabeth walk out of the boarding house. She was scared for her best friend. She knew that Klaus' love for her could only protect her so much. If he could kill his siblings, his family, he could kill Elizabeth, especially if he was mad enough, if he got lost in his werewolf rage. He had killed Elizabeth before, after all.

"So, Stefan is going to have a really bad hangover tomorrow," Damon said, walking down the stairs and pulling Lily from her thoughts.

She smiled slightly. "I'm glad you three got a chance to bond today. Things have been pretty tense lately."

Damon nodded in agreement and sat down next to her. He frowned suddenly at her. "What's wrong? You don't look too happy."

Lily just shook her head. Telling Damon would only make him angry and worried and stressed. That wouldn't be good for anybody. "Nothing, I'm just worrying. I'm a worrier." Lily stood up and made to walk into the kitchen for some blood, when Damon grabbed her wrist.

"Wait," he said, suddenly looking seriously. "I love you, Lily. You know that, right?" Damon did love her. He felt like he didn't say it enough, didn't give enough back to her. Relationships were supposed to be about give and take, and all Damon did was take from Lily.

She smiled slightly. "Yeah, I know. I love you too."

Damon pulled Lily down and kissed her, in a way meant to show her just how much he loved her, even if he had problems showing that love. Lily kissed him back, before pulling away and frowning.

"Why are you suddenly telling me this?" she asked him.

Damon shrugged and stood up. "I just want you to know it," he told her, before smirking slightly. "Come on, I'll make you dinner."

Lily smiled. She knew that Damon was a good cook, whereas Elizabeth shouldn't be allowed anywhere near an oven or stove. Lily had tried to teach her how to cook numerous times, but she never got anywhere. Elizabeth always liked to point out that she made amazing cereal, though.

"An 'I love you' and dinner on the same night? how did I get so lucky?" Lily joked as Damon pulled her towards the kitchen.

Damon just rolled his eyes and kissed her again.

_**~LG~**_

I was pacing Klaus' bedroom, trying to calm my nerves. I didn't know where Klaus was, but I just chose to wait in his room for him. I couldn't chicken out. I had to do this, no matter how hard it would be.

My eyes wandered over to his desk, and I decided to distract myself by snooping. I walked over to get a closer look, and found drawings. Some looked brand new, like he might've sketched it that morning, and others looked old, like older than me. I picked the stack up and sat down on his bed. I loved looking at Klaus' drawings and paintings. He actually made me interested in art.

I frowned when I found a picture of me. It was me in the dress Lily got me for my birthday, the locket around my neck, the charm bracelet on my wrist. I looked surprised and scared and confused. But there was a spark of happiness in my eyes. That's when I realized that Klaus had drawn me from the moment when he told me he loved me.

"I can never get your smile right."

I jumped slightly, but I wasn't abashed at being caught snooping. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened. "I like it, though," I told him, smiling slightly. "In fact, I think I'm going to steal it from you."

"It's yours," Klaus told me, before frowning. "Not that I mind it, but why are you here? And why do you look so stressed and… guilty?"

I took a deep breath. "I love you," I blurted out. I just needed to say it one last time before everything went to hell.

His blue eyes softened. "I love you too, love," he assured me, sitting down next to me and resting his hand on my knee. "Now, what happened?"

I closed my eyes. His words gave me strength. Maybe, if I told him right, we could still come out of this, same as before.

But, unfortunately, the communication between my brain and mouth was cut off. I opened my eyes, nerves and fear getting the best of me.

"I tried to kill you."

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **So… I suck. I had a little writer's block for this chapter, and I've also been busy. I've worked through the block, though, and hopefully I'll be updating soon. I don't know how many chapters are left for this story, but I sense that it's coming to a close soon.

Thank you to: kate, AutumnGirl104, Elle, RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, Me, kate, Lady Syndra, okgurl87, and Katerina The Von for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	61. a lover's spat

**Chapter sixty**

A lover's spat

_Elizabeth_

There was silence as Klaus processed my words. my eyes were wide, since I hadn't meant to tell him so bluntly. Klaus stared down at me, eyes wide, jaw dropped slightly.

"Excuse me?" Klaus said finally, looking as if he thought- more like prayed- he had misheard me.

I took a deep breath and looked away from him. "I tried to kill you," I mumbled, so low I was hoping he wouldn't hear me.

Unfortunately for me, Klaus had original hybrid hearing. I shut my eyes, preparing myself to have him rip some vital organ from my body. But what I got was worse. One single, hurt filled, heartbreaking word. _"What?"_

I flinched. Klaus didn't shout it, didn't scream. If anything, it came out of his mouth like a breath. I almost couldn't hear it. But it caused as much damage as it would if he screamed it. I opened my eyes. I hadn't expected this- hurt, sad, quiet Klaus. "Please, just let me-" I started to say, but I was cut off.

Klaus gripped my shoulders. Tightly. I gasped slightly, feeling his hands bruise my skin beneath my shirt. "Klaus, you're hurting me-" I tried to say, only to have him grip my shoulders tighter. I gritted my teeth in pain.

"_What did you do, Elizabeth?" _His blue eyes were dark. There was no trace of the man I loved in the man holding me, the man angry with me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "Please. You're hurting me."

Klaus blinked and let me go. In a flash, he was across the room, facing a book shelf, his back to me. I rubbed my shoulders, the bruises already healing. I stayed on the bed, watching Klaus carefully.

"I'm sorry," I repeated quietly.

He didn't say anything. I didn't know if it was smart or not, but I kept talking. I had in it my head that if I talked enough, drilled the truth into Klaus' head enough, things could be the same again. It wasn't the first time we've hurt each other. Klaus and I have hurt each other so much, our relationship could almost be considered abusive. He broke my heart, I broke his. He killed me, I tried to kill him.

"I only did it to be with Jeremy, okay? And I don't even want to be with Jeremy anymore! I love _you, _Klaus. Really, I do. It was a really reckless, stupid, impulsive decision. I really regret even thinking about doing it. I always knew, deep down, that I'd never be able to follow through with it-" I cut myself off and took a deep breath.

Klaus still wasn't looking at me. I stared at his back for what could have been hours, just watching him carefully. Finally, he spoke. "Did you undagger Elijah?" he asked casually, as if we weren't discussing my plot to kill him.

I inhaled sharply. "Yes," I said, feeling a lump grow in my throat.

"And the rest of my siblings?" He still sounded casual, but his voice grew darker.

"Yes, I did. I undaggered your entire family."

Klaus was suddenly three inches away from me, and I jumped. "Why?" he asked me, searching my face for something. "Why would you undagger my family?"

I closed my eyes. I thought about telling Klaus about Elijah, but I couldn't. He protected me, I couldn't throw him under the bus. Instead, I shrugged. "I thought I'd distract you, give me a good opening to kill you," I lied, but instantly regretted my lie. It made me sound more calculating than I was, than I wanted to be.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Liar," he said. "I always know when you're lying to me."

I gasped as Klaus suddenly grabbed my arm, his grip tight. "You undaggered Elijah so that he'd help you kill me. And you undaggered my brothers and sister so that he would help you, didn't you?" he accused.

I bit my lip. Klaus stared down at me, as if he could see right into my soul, my dark, damaged soul. Lying would only make things worse. Klaus couldn't kill Elijah again, anyway. I knew for a fact that the originals had disposed of the daggers that would kill them. It wasn't like he hadn't tried to kill Klaus before, either. Elijah would be fine. I had to worry about myself at that moment.

Slowly, I nodded. Klaus shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Kol was right," he muttered. "He said that there was something going on with you and Elijah. He suggested that you two were sleeping together and I broke half of the bones in his face-" Klaus cut himself off and opened his eyes. "I never would have guessed that you two were planning my murder. I should have, but I didn't."

Klaus' grip on my arm went slack and he pulled away from me, as if touching me was a disgusting thought to him now. I looked down at my left arm and watched the finger-shaped bruises on my arm go from black to purple to blue to green to yellow before finally disappearing altogether.

"I'm not stupid, Elizabeth," Klaus said, looking at a wall. His voice was cool, cold now. I closed my eyes. "I knew I smelled your scent here the night my siblings returned. Vanilla and roses. I even thought that you might have undaggered my siblings to get back at me. I thought that you had been drunk and angry, so I let it slide. I decided that whoever undaggered my siblings was a minor detail, that it didn't matter. I let it go. I never imagined that your actions were premeditated, that you did it in order to kill me."

I opened my eyes, facing cool, cold, indifferent Klaus. This was the worst Klaus. He wasn't hurt Klaus, who would tell me what we had wasn't real, that I never meant anything to him, who would try to hurt me like I had hurt him. He wasn't angry Klaus, who was so filled with werewolf rage he'd rip my heart out in the heat of the moment. No, he was cool, cold, indifferent Klaus. He was above me, above caring for me. He wouldn't kill me because it wasn't worth his time or energy. He just simply didn't care about me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, unable to meet his piercing gaze.

"Your apology means next to nothing right now, Elizabeth."

I closed my eyes again. "I love you," I tried next. I knew it was a futile attempt right now. I might have lost Klaus forever.

"That doesn't mean anything either," he replied coldly, walking away from me.

Despite my sense of self-preservation screaming at me to get the hell out of dodge, I followed Klaus. "Just because I tried to kill doesn't mean I don't love you!" I exclaimed. "I was scared, Klaus, okay? I was angry and scared and confused. Last time I checked, that's exactly how you felt when you killed me. I hated you because despite everything you put me through, I still loved you. And that's why I tried to kill you. Not for Jeremy, not for anybody. I tried to kill you because I love you."

Klaus stopped walking. My breath caught in my throat as I watched him. Had my words gotten to him? "Just because I tried to kill you doesn't mean I don't love you," I repeated. "You killed me and you love me." _at least, you did. You used to._

Klaus was silent. "I know," he said finally, and his voice wasn't cold, casual, or indifferent. It was just tired. "But I always thought you better than me, Elizabeth. I suppose I was wrong to think that."

I flinched slightly, though I already knew that. I was no better than Klaus. I had never been.

Slowly, Klaus turned around to face me. His eyes, his face, were a jumble of emotions. "Leave," he told me. "Before I rip your heart out."

I didn't move a muscle, though. I just kept staring back at him. Finally, Klaus' eyes darkened and angry Klaus reared his head again. _"Leave, Elizabeth," _he snarled, pushing me roughly. I fell to the ground, hitting my head roughly on the bed frame.

My vision dotted for a few seconds, though I never broke eye contact with Klaus. Finally, I stood up and looked away. He wasn't going to forgive me tonight. Maybe he would never forgive me.

But before I ran out of his room, out of his mansion, I grabbed the drawing Klaus drew of me. Then, with one last regretful look at Klaus, I was gone.

_**~LG~**_

Klaus stared blankly at a wall for an hour after Elizabeth left. The love of his life had tried to kill him. He probably should have seen it coming, but he didn't. He thought that Elizabeth wouldn't sink to his level, wouldn't kill the people she loved like he had.

He didn't have much right to be angry. He had killed her, after all. But there was a difference between what he had done and what Elizabeth had done. Klaus had never meant to kill Elizabeth. He got angry- angry at her and at himself- and then he took his anger out on Elizabeth. He fed her his blood before he snapped her neck, too. He knew she'd be coming back.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, had meant to kill Klaus. Who knew when she had finally called her plan off? Was she still planning to kill him when they were sleeping together? Every time Klaus told her he loved her, had Elizabeth been planning his murder?

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. It was a good thing he had made Elizabeth leave. He might have done something really stupid if she was still around. He might have killed her, and despite how angry and upset and… _hurt _he was at that moment, Klaus still loved her. He didn't want Elizabeth to die. He just would never admit it to himself.

Klaus sighed and decided to focus his thoughts on other things than Elizabeth, like his traitor brother. Elijah. Again, he had tried to kill him. Klaus didn't have any right to be angry at him either. How many times had Klaus daggered and undaggered Elijah? He had lost count.

Klaus found Elijah alone in one of the many sitting rooms in the mansion. Not even a second passed and he had his eldest brother held against a wall by his neck. Klaus was taking all his anger out on Elijah, because, unlike Elizabeth, he couldn't kill Elijah. His siblings had made sure that he would never find another dagger to use on them ever again.

Elijah easily got away with Klaus. He slipped from his grasp and was across the room before a second passed. He didn't shout or scream at Klaus for attacking him. he merely furrowed his eyebrows and cocked his head slightly to the side, surveying his brother.

"So," Klaus said, never taking his gaze off of Elijah. "You and Elizabeth were planning my death behind my back."

Elijah raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise. "You know," he said calmly.

"I know." Klaus' eyes darkened at his brother's calmness. It could be infuriating at the best of times.

"I suppose that Elizabeth is dead then?" there was a hint of regret in Elijah's voice. He had come to like Elizabeth, she had grown on him. She was spunky and bubbly and he liked the century old vampire.

"Elizabeth is perfectly fine," Klaus said gruffly. Relief was visible in Elijah's eyes before he regained control of his emotions.

"Did she tell you?" he asked curiously.

"She did."

Elijah was silent as he observed his impulsive, reckless, hybrid brother. "You had it coming, Niklaus," he said finally. "But I daresay you already know that."

Klaus clenched his jaw. Because Elijah was right. Klaus did have it coming, he did deserve it. And he knew it too.

_**~LG~**_

Rebekah returned to the old, abandoned house Poppy had been hiding out in for weeks. She had big news, news that would give them a perfect opening to rid themselves of Elizabeth.

She found Poppy in a dark, dirty room and told her the great news. Rebekah could barely contain herself. "Elizabeth and Nik are having a lover's spat."

Poppy raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Bekah?"

"Apparently, Elizabeth had this secret deal with Elijah to kill Nik. Our favorite couple is currently on the outs, and you know that we must take advantage of this." Rebekah smirked at the fellow blonde.

Poppy smirked back. Klaus was Elizabeth's biggest protector, and they couldn't let an opportunity where he was pissed at her pass them. "I've been thinking," Poppy said, sitting up. "And I've learned from our mistakes. I know of a way where we can make sure Elizabeth dies painfully while also making sure that no one will come to her rescue."

Rebekah raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" she asked, bemused.

"Our biggest mistake was not taking into count the number of people willing to save dear Lizzie," Poppy explained.

"And how do we fix that?" the blonde asked.

Poppy smirked again. "We make them think she's passed saving."

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Katerina The Von, RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, and dragonrain618 for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	62. ashes

**Chapter sixty one**

ashes

_Mystic Falls, Virginia_

_1864_

_Elizabeth hummed an old lullaby she remembered from her childhood- something she would, once in a blue moon; get one of her brothers to sing off-key, when she begged enough. It was a soft, quiet melody that calmed and relaxed her, something she sang to herself when she was either nervous or bored. At that moment, it was the latter._

_She spent most of her time at Klaus' house, only coming home at night, sometimes not at all. She never really had many friends, so they didn't notice. Her brothers were too infatuated with Katherine to notice her lack of presence at the house. Only her father had caught onto the fact that his youngest child wasn't running around the backyard or making messes in the manor like she used to. Elizabeth soothed her father's suspicions with an easy smile and lies about how she's maturing and spending more time with young women her own age, instead of her brothers. He never knew that his daughter was spending almost all of her time with the thing he hated most._

"_Damn," Elizabeth muttered as her sewing needle pricked her finger. Again. "Damn. Damn. Damn it!" _

_Elizabeth gasped in pain as her needle was jabbed into her thumb, hard, and a crimson bead of blood formed, trickling slowly down her finger. She had been sewing- more like trying to sew- but her homemaking skills were lacking. Elizabeth couldn't cook or sew. She couldn't bandage up injuries or keep her opinions to herself. She was the opposite of an ideal housewife. _

"_Having fun there?"_

_Elizabeth looked up as Klaus walked into the room. She was sitting on the floor, the dress she had been trying to patch up draped over her legs. She beamed when she saw him, his blonde hair dripping from the rain outside. _

_She grimaced and threw the sewing needle across the room. "I do not think sewing is a hobby I should take up, or else I am more than likely to bleed all over your floor," she said lightly, gesturing to her bleeding thumb._

_In a blink of an eye, Klaus was at her side. Elizabeth didn't even jump- she was used to his vampire speed. He took her hand and placed her bloody thumb at his lips. Elizabeth's lips parted and she watched as Klaus licked her blood off of her thumb, his tongue lightly grazing the prick made in her skin. Her eyes never left his face, and she watched as the veins under Klaus' blue eyes darkened. At that moment, she wanted him to bite her. It made her sound like a blood whore, but she liked being bitten by Klaus._

_But before he could sink his fangs into her soft, pale neck, Klaus regained control of his thirst and pulled away from Elizabeth. She sat up and pushed the old dress off of her. "I think we can add sewing to the list of things I'm no good at, along with cooking, drawing, cleaning, singing, and keeping my mouth shut."_

"_At least you're pretty," Klaus joked and she stuck her tongue out at him._

_He looked around the living room and frowned. "What have you been doing all day, Elizabeth?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow. The room, along with half of the house, was a mess. _

"_Going stir crazy." She sighed. "I do not like it when you are gone- there is nothing to do."_

_Klaus rolled his eyes as Elizabeth playfully smirked at him. "I am glad to know that you keep me around for entertainment purposes only, love," he said dryly._

_Elizabeth stood up and wrapped her arms around him from behind, resting her head against his back. He relaxed at her touch. It never ceased to amaze him, how disarming the little human girl whose arms were around him was. He just relaxed automatically at her touch._

"_I don't just keep you around for entertainment purposes, Klaus," she said quietly before smirking into his shirt. "You're also great in bed."_

_If Elizabeth had said that to anyone else, she would have gotten scandalized looks. Ladies were not supposed to talk like that. Ladies were not supposed to act the way Elizabeth acted. Klaus loved it though. He found it amusing and endearing and another thing that attracted him to Elizabeth Salvatore like a moth to a flame._

_He chuckled and turned around so he was facing her. Elizabeth stretched up on her toes and brought his face down to hers. Their lips met and she wrapped her arms around Klaus' neck in order to be even closer to him._

_One arm snaked around Elizabeth's waist while the other went to her dark black hair. Elizabeth smirked against his lips and pulled away from him. He frowned and tried to pull her back, but she just smirked seductively and moved herself out of his reach._

_Klaus knew what Elizabeth was trying to do. She was trying to be seductive and sexy. She wanted him to chase after her, to want her. She was trying to seduce him. And Klaus was letting her._

_He let out a feral growl, his eyes darkening with lust. He stalked slowly towards her, but Elizabeth moved backwards two steps for every one step he took forward. He could've easily gotten her, they both knew that. But Klaus was letting Elizabeth play her game; he wanted to see how far she would take teasing him._

_Elizabeth didn't get very far. She gasped suddenly, slipping over something invisible and falling onto her ass. Her clumsy action ended their game, and a burst of surprised laughter escaped from her._

_Klaus chuckled, shaking his head at her. Only Elizabeth Salvatore could go from being sexy seductive one minute to being childish and innocent the next. Only Elizabeth Salvatore could make Klaus feel something he never, ever wanted to feel again._

_That was the exact moment Klaus Mikaelson fell in love with Elizabeth Salvatore._

The day following my pretty huge fight with Klaus, I did the thing I did best, in order to distract myself from the rush of emotions I was feeling, from the pain knowing that I might have lost Klaus forever.

I drank.

I drank until I stopped thinking, until the world around me blurred and the only thing that was left was me and my bottle. I drank until I stopped caring, until I numb. I drank until I ran out of alcohol.

I found myself in some dive bar far away from Mystic Falls. I sat down at the bar and didn't get up until hours later, when I very, very, _very _drunk. I took one step and promptly face planted. I laughed crazily, feeling more relaxed and problem-free than I had in decades. In my little alcohol-centered world, it didn't matter that I might have just ruined everything with Klaus, that he didn't trust me anymore. The only thing that mattered was that the dive bar- though it wasn't very pretty- sold me decent scotch and low prices.

The bartender helped me back into my chair. "Is this your first time getting drunk?" he asked with a raised eyebrow as I reached for my drink again. "How old are you anyway?"

"A hundred and sixty two," I slurred in a sing-song voice, frowning when I found my bottle empty. "More please."

The bartender's eyebrows furrowed but he shook his head. "Drunks," he muttered, before grabbing my empty bottle and replacing it. "Make this one last, sweetheart. I'm cutting you off after."

I instantly took a long swig, the liquid burning my throat in a good way. I was the only one in the bar, and the bartender watched me out of the corner of his eye as he wiped down the already clean bar. He just needed something to do.

"So, why are you out getting hammered by yourself? Don't you have some wild high school party to attend? Some football game to cheer at? Some quarterback to play tonsil hockey with?" he asked, sounding a little bitter. He was in his thirties, and was definitely not the friendliest guy in the world. He probably saw me as some preppy high school cheerleader who had some true rumors spread about her and wanted to seem cool and drink whiskey. He probably wanted to take my drink away from me and give me some fruity drink with an umbrella instead.

"I'm not in high school," I told him, pushing my messy hair out of my face. "Not anymore. I went for, like, two weeks and then I gave up when I compelled my boyfriend not to love me."

The bartender's eyes widened slightly, but then he just shook his head. "Drunks," he muttered again.

I took a long sip, not in control of the words that came out of my mouth. "I'm here because I wanna get really drunk," I told him.

He rolled his eyes. "I see that."

I leaned in close, my breath reeking of alcohol. "The guy I'm in love with is pissed at me," I said bluntly, my blue eyes glazed over.

He raised an eyebrow. "What did you do? Cheat on him?"

"No, worse." I took a sip of bourbon. "I tried to kill him."

The bartender's eyes widened, then he shook his head. He distanced himself from me, though. "I don't whether you're drunk or crazy," he muttered.

I shrugged. "At this point, both." I swallowed the rest of the bourbon and pushed it forward. "More please."

He shook his head. "You're going to get alcohol poisoning. Trust me, getting your stomach pumped is not fun."

I rolled my eyes. "Please, I don't get alcohol poisoning," I said, as if it should have been obvious. It was one of the perks of being a vampire, you could drink yourself to death but you wouldn't die. You could smoke twelve packs of cigarettes a day and not get cancer. Hell, you could go on acid trip and not face the consequences. When you became a vampire, human illnesses became irrelevant.

His eyebrows furrowed again. "You're a freak," he said, his eyes widening. "You're a huge freak."

I shrugged. "That's up for debate." I traced the wooden counter top, frowning in concentration. "I'm just really worried, you know? I love him, so much. I feel like I never really expressed that and maybe if I had he would've forgiven me by now. The truth is, letting him back in hasn't been that easy. In love, there's always that hint of doubt, that fear that the person you love is going to rip your heart to shreds. And he did that to me. He ripped my heart apart, and 146 years later I realized that, no matter what he did to me, I'd always love him. Nothing I could do would ever change that. That didn't make it any easier to let Klaus in, though. To forgive him. I love him, but I don't think I'll ever trust him with my heart the way I did in 1864." I took a deep breath. "And my trying to kill him hasn't helped things either. He doesn't trust me anymore; maybe he doesn't love me either. I don't know. This is why I'm getting drunk. Because being drunk makes the world less complicated."

The bartender looked at me. His eyes flickered, and he was trying to determine if I serious or not. After a few seconds, he shook his head. "Okay, you're really cut off," he said.

"Elizabeth!"

I grinned and turned around to face Lily. She frowned when she saw how drunk I was. "Lil! What are you doin' here?" I asked with a sloppy smile.

She shook her head. "You called me half an hour ago and told me to meet you here, so we could get wasted, Drunkie." She tossed a few bills on the counter and then grabbed my arm. "Come on, we're going home."

I shook my head and tried to pull away. "No! I don't wanna!"

But Lily just glared at me and yanked me harder off my bar stool. My eyes widened as I heard my arm pop out of its socket. The alcohol numbed the pain, fortunately. Lily heard it too and sighed. "Come on, Lizzie," she said softly.

As soon as we were at her car, Lily popped my arm back into place. "Ow," I said dully, before sitting down in the passenger seat. My buzz was wearing off and I didn't like it.

We drove in silence for five minutes, until Lily finally asked, "What happened?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "He doesn't love me anymore, Lily," I said softly. I had convinced myself that. Klaus didn't love me anymore. How could he?

Lily knew who I was talking about. "You told him?"

I nodded, leaning my head against the cool window.

"And I take it he didn't take it too well?"

I nodded again, closing my eyes. "Did he try to kill you, Elizabeth?" she asked sharply.

"Worse. He doesn't care."

Lily's eyebrows furrowed. "He doesn't care that you tried to kill him?" she asked skeptically.

"Me, Lily. He doesn't care about me," I explained.

She sighed. "Elizabeth-"

"Maybe- maybe it's good though, you know? We've hurt each other so much. Our relationship is so dysfunctional. We're not good for each other. Maybe it's a good thing that we're not together anymore. We're finally free," I mumbled.

"It's not, Elizabeth," Lily said so fiercely, I opened my eyes. "This isn't a good thing. It doesn't matter that you've hurt each other; people in love are more than capable of ripping each other apart if they really want to. What matters is that you love Klaus and you always will."

I stared at my best friend for a few seconds before looking away. "Why do you want me to be with Klaus?" I muttered.

"Because I want you to be happy, Elizabeth. That's all I'll ever want. Therefore, I want you to be with Klaus," she said simply. "Now go to sleep. You're going to wake up with a killer hangover tomorrow."

I closed my eyes and allowed sleep to overcome me.

_**~LG~**_

I woke up with a killer hangover.

I groaned as I turned onto my side in my bed, shielding my eyes from the sun. The first thing that I thought about was Klaus, of course. He wasn't going to leave my thoughts anytime soon.

I tried to distract myself by doing normal, routine things. I vomited out the alcohol I inhaled last night, brushed my teeth, took a shower, got dressed, then went downstairs to get some coffee. Routine didn't take Klaus off of my mind, though.

I was kind of glad that the boarding house was empty when I walked into the kitchen for coffee. The last thing I wanted was to face my brothers. I couldn't help but think that a part of them would be thrilled that Klaus and I were on the outs, which would make any sort of comfort they'd give me insincere in my eyes.

As I poured myself some coffee, I stared at my phone. Was it too soon to call him? Yes, it was. I had to let him cool down, sort through things if I ever wanted to get him back. I had to be patient. I had to let Klaus approach me. It might take a week or a month or year. It might take a decade. Hell, it might take a century. But I'd wait a century for Klaus. He needed to know that.

I pushed my phone away, as if distance would lessen the temptation to call him and hear his sexy accent. I sighed and took a sip of my hot coffee. It scorched my mouth and throat as I swallowed it.

"Elizabeth. It's been way too long."

I stiffened and instantly turned around. "Poppy," I said, my gaze never leaving the blonde. "Last time I saw you, you were hell-bent on roasting me like a marshmallow."

She smirked at me. "Well, some things never change, Lizzie."

She lunged at me, but I was ready for her. Poppy wasn't going to attack me this time. She wasn't going to torture me again. I reached for my hot coffee and dumped it on her. She hissed in pain, the liquid burning her skin.

Poppy hit me hard enough to send me flying across the room. I slammed into a table, breaking it. But I wasn't going down without a fight. I gripped Poppy's gold hair and yanked hard, ripping out a chunk. She howled in pain, and I kicked her in the stomach, sending her into the stairs.

I broke a leg off of chair, before running at Poppy and pinning her against the ground. I shoved the makeshift stake into her stomach, and Poppy yelled out in pain again.

"Not again, Poppy," I told her. "You're not going to torture me again."

"Maybe not, but I will."

Rebekah easily ripped me off of Poppy, and pulled the stake from her friend. She smirked at me before shoving it into my stomach. I groaned and fell to my knees. I was no match for the two smirking blondes.

_**~LG~**_

"Lizzie! Come out, come out wherever you are! We come baring coffee and donuts!"

Lily frowned at Damon, since he had been screaming. "She has a hangover," she reminded him.

He smirked. "I know."

They walked into the living room, when Lily suddenly stopped and frowned. "What's that?"

There was a giant pile of ash by the window. Lily set down the coffee she had been carrying and walked closer to the ash to inspect it. Damon frowned too, especially when he heard her gasp. Then a sob escaped Lily's throat.

Not even a second passed and Damon was at Lily's side. "What? What happened?" he demanded.

Lily pointed at the ash. When he saw what had upset her, his eyes widened. _"No."_

In the pile of ash were two things, two familiar things. One was a charm bracelet, the other a locket. Damon's eyes instantly found a familiar daylight ring, sitting on a nearby broken coffee table.

Damon closed his eyes and shook his head. No, it wasn't possible. This was just some twisted nightmare. It had to be. But when he opened his eyes again, everything was the same. Lily was still next to him, shaking with silent sobs. Then she spoke the ugly, horrific truth.

"Elizabeth's dead."

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **Is she really, though? Or am I just mean? That is the question.

Thank you to: Katerina The Von, RainySmithCullenSalvatore X, Elle, and Kate for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	63. tortured souls

**Chapter sixty two**

Tortured souls

_Elizabeth_

Sunlight hit me, and I groaned, waking up. It took me a few seconds to recognize the pain, hear my skin sizzle as the sun burned me. My eyes snapped open, and I let out a howl of pain. I didn't know what was happening, where I was, or what happened to me. The only thing I recognized was the intense pain that was happening to me.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty. We have some long days ahead of us."

I gritted my teeth in pain. If I stayed in the sun any longer, I would go up in flames. "Wanna shut the curtains, Poppy? it'd be a shame if I died and you didn't get to torture me first."

I shut my eyes tight and dug my nails into the arms of the wooden chair I was sitting in. I didn't want to scream, to give off any sign that I was in pain. Poppy fed off of my pain, and I'd rather die than give her the satisfaction of seeing me in pain.

Poppy smirked, then shut the curtains. I barely managed to withhold my sigh of relief. Instead, I held Poppy's gaze. "Torturing me again, Poppy? Because I worked out so well the last time?" My voice was rough and harsh.

As I woke up, I started to recognize the pain throughout my body. Poppy had definitely been warming up on me while I was sleeping. The ropes tying me to the chair I was in were soaked in vervain, and I let out a low hiss of pain as they burned deeper into my skin. I noticed long slices made on my bare arms and legs, along with burns. My guess was that Poppy had cut me with a vervain soaked knife.

Poppy smirked at me. "You see, I've been smarter this time, Lizzie. I've taken certain precautions, and I have a partner now. Plus, I've had plenty of time to come up with all sorts of fun new things we can do."

I frowned at her. "Like what?" I asked warily. It didn't matter what Poppy planned to do to me, or, at least, that's what I told myself. They'd come for me. My family, maybe even Klaus, but I wasn't going to get my hopes up on him coming to rescue again. Still, somebody would come for me.

Her big, blue eyes widened mockingly. "But, the surprise is half the fun, Lizzie," she told me. "I wouldn't want to ruin the fun for you."

I bit my lip. I was definitely in for some rough hours while Lily, Damon, and Stefan tried to track me down. Still, at least Poppy would die once they did. Because there was no way she was going to make it out alive. Not so that she can kidnap and torture me yet again.

Poppy walked over to a table she had set up a few feet to my right. I didn't even bother to look at what she had there. I'd find out soon enough, and not in a good way. Instead, my eyes wandered around the small, dungeon-like room she had me in. It was damp and moldy, the only window directly in front of me, but it was covered.

"They're going to come for me, you know," I told Poppy casually, starting to become almost numb to the burning sensations on my ankles and wrists. "And then you're going to get your heart ripped out."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that one, Lizzie," Poppy said pleasantly, fiddling with an object I couldn't see. "No one's going to rescue you, honey. You're stuck with me until I decide to take pity and kill you."

I rolled my eyes. She was just trying to kill my hope. But hope was eternal. "Whatever, Poppaea. You can torture me all you want, but I'm not going to let you play mind games with me so easily."

"But I wasn't playing mind games, Elizabeth." She actually sounded honest and I frowned. "No one's rescuing you from the dungeon, Princess."

"What makes you so sure?" There was a hint of doubt in my voice that caused Poppy ton smirk.

"Because they think you're dead, Lizzie," she told me bluntly. "I told you I've taken precautions this time."

I barely had time to feel the hope flicker out inside of me, before Poppy shoved a sharp pencil into my jugular.

_**~LG~**_

Lily held Elizabeth's ring in her hand, clutching it so hard that it dug into her skin. Tears rolled freely down her cheeks as she pulled her knees up to her chin.

Elizabeth was dead. It seemed impossible to believe, despite how many times her life had been at risk since returning to Mystic Falls.

Lily shook her head. How could Lizzie be dead? It seemed so sudden, so uncalled for. She left her best friend in her bedroom, sleeping off a hangover, then when she returned home her ashes stained the Persian rug in the living room.

It seemed like Lizzie could still be asleep in her bed. Any second now, she'd stumble out of her room, half-asleep, her top priority getting coffee. She'd look wild, her clothes wrinkled, her black hair messy and uncontrollable. And she'd snap at Damon to shut the hell up, since she had a hangover.

But no. Elizabeth Alessandra Salvatore was dead. For good, this time.

A sob escaped Lily's throat and she covered her hand with her mouth. Her best was gone. Her _sister _was gone. Lily clutched the daylight tighter, causing the sharp metal to pierce her skin, blood to drip down her hand, and a dull pain to rise. Lily didn't care, though. At that moment, she didn't give a damn about anything.

She shook silently, crying into her jeans until her eyes were red and dry, and she had a dull headache. Then Lily stood up, wiped her blood carelessly on her white shirt, and deposited the ring into her pocket. She tried her best to compose herself. She had to focus on the brothers now, for they had lost their little sister.

Lily walked out of her bedroom, walking past Lizzie's, whose door was shut tight, as if that would keep her spirit inside and they could preserve her forever. She didn't look at it, for if she did, dozens of memories would overcome her and she'd breakdown again. So many girls' days, so many slumber parties, so many secrets exchanged in the dead of night. That was all gone now, nothing more than memories that would fade into nothing over time.

Lily found Stefan in the living room, staring blankly at the spot where Lizzie's ashes were found. They had been carefully transferred to a purple glass jar and were sitting on a table. The locket was next to it, but the charm bracelet was missing.

Lily warmed up two glasses of blood- one animal blood- and walked over and sat down next to Stefan. Her hands were shaking, the blood sloshing and accidently spilling onto her already ruined shirt. She handed the animal blood to Stefan, causing him to look at her.

"Here," she said. "You need to drink, Stefan." Her voice was rough, raw, empty, and dead. It was identical to the tone that both Stefan and Damon had.

He shook his head, turning his gaze back to the spot where the ashes were found. "I'm not thirsty."

Lily didn't push him, for she wasn't thirsty either. She just needed something to do. She couldn't bare to think anymore. Her brain, her mind, was mush. It would kill her to keep thinking, to keep analyzing.

But that was all Stefan had been doing. He didn't look back at Lily as she set down the two full glasses of blood. "How did this happen?" He asked no one in particular.

That was the question. _How? Why? _How was Elizabeth Salvatore dead?

"I-I don't know, Stefan," Lily said honestly, her pained silver eyes looking as far away from the jar that contained her best friend as they could get. Her throat tightened almost painfully, and her nose burned, meaning she was going to cry. She shut her eyes tightly in defiance.

Did Elizabeth kill herself? Had she not been as okay they thought her to be? Had depression, self-loathing, snuck up on her and she hadn't said a word? But why wouldn't Elizabeth leave something to let her family know what had happened to her? Why would she leave them wondering? Why didn't she say goodbye?

Maybe she had been murdered. Maybe Klaus had come for her and killed her. Or maybe Rebekah or Poppy. Lily needed somebody to blame, somebody to take revenge on. She couldn't do that if Elizabeth had taken her own life.

Maybe Elizabeth had been so heartbroken, so anguished over Klaus that she had killed herself. But it was pathetic, to take your life because of some man, no matter how much you loved him. Elizabeth would think that too. Besides, that would be giving up, on both life and winning back Klaus, and Elizabeth didn't give up.

She had ton have been murdered. That had to be the only option. But the thing that sucked was that they would never know.

Lily looked back over to Stefan and saw that silent tears were rolling down his cheeks. She hastily looked away and stood up. She had to let Stefan grieve in private. If he needed her, he'd get her.

Lily squeezed Stefan's hand before standing up and quietly walking back up the stairs. She had to check on another Salvatore brother. If she knew Damon- and Lily liked to think she did- he'd be knee deep in liquor at this point. So she was almost shocked to death when she walked into his bedroom and found him staring at his wall with empty eyes, completely sober.

"Oh, Damon." Lily was instantly at his side, her head buried in his chest, her arms around him. Damon found himself clutching to Lily, as if she was the only thing holding him to the ground and he would float away if he let her go.

Damon didn't bother to hide his tears from Lily and he buried his face in her dark hair. "It's my fault, Lily," he mumbled.

Lily frowned and pulled away. "How?" she asked, brushing away his tears with her thumb.

"I'm her big brother. I should've protected her. I should've kept her safe. But I didn't in 1864 and I didn't now. And now she's dead, just like she was the last time I failed to protect her," Damon explained in a dead voice.

Lily shook her head, eyes burning with tears she couldn't shed. "This isn't your fault, Damon. We don't know whose fault it is."

But Damon wasn't convinced. He was the eldest Salvatore, the big brother. It was his job to protect his siblings to keep his family together. And he had failed from the start. If anything, he had driven his family apart. He had hated his brother, let his sister die twice. He let both of them become the worst versions of themselves and didn't even try to stop them. He was a sucky big brother. It was his fault. Everything was all his fault.

"I- I have to get out of here," Damon said suddenly. "I have to leave. If I don't-" Damon cut himself off.

Lily's eyebrows furrowed. "Leave where? The house?"

"The town. I can't stand to be reminded of Lizzie everywhere I go," he explained and Lily nodded in agreement. Elizabeth's presence was almost suffocating.

"Then we'll leave," she told him simply. "We'll leave Mystic Falls."

Because the truth was, Lily needed to get out as much as Damon did.

_**~LG~**_

I cried out in pain as Poppy pushed yet another vervain-soaked nail into my skin, digging it all the way down to the bone. I gritted my teeth, biting down on my lip to keep from screaming. I tasted blood in my mouth as I shut my eyes to keep the tears of pain invisible to Poppy.

Dozens of iron nails were in my body, lining down my thighs and legs, my arms and hands. Poppy had pushed them into my wrist to form some sort of twisted bracelet. Blood flowed down to the floor, dripping into a puddle. As if that pain wasn't enough, the vervain burned my skin and my veins, sizzling and destroying, only to be healed. Then Poppy would start the process all over again.

"Any words, Lizzie? Any screams you wanna let out?" Poppy taunted me. "Come on, Lizzie. Scream. I dare you."

"Screw. You," I said through gritted teeth, hissing as she dug one directly into one of my veins. "Mother-" I cut myself off. I couldn't give her the satisfaction.

Poppy narrowed her eyes and stood up. She walked over to her table, sidestepping several pools of my blood to reach it. Then she picked up one large, sharp looking knife. My eyes widened.

"What are you-" I started to say, but then Poppy flashed over to me and pressed her hand down on several nails on my thigh, and my words turned into a strangled scream. I couldn't help but let a few tears roll down my blood covered cheeks.

Poppy smirked. "Now that's the reaction I'm looking for." She raised the knife and I stiffened. What the hell did she plan to do with that thing?

My questions were answered when she slit my throat.

I choked and gurgled on my own blood as excruciating pain rolled through me in waves. I tried to scream, but I couldn't. The sound that came out was horrific and inhuman. Poppy seemed satisfied and returned her knife to the table.

It took about ten minutes for my throat to heal. During that, Poppy busied herself with pushing vervain soaked nails onto every inch of bare skin she could find. All I could do was sit there and take the pain. I didn't even bother to keep the pain inside. I let the tears roll, the screams out. What was the point? I was going to die anyway. Poppy was going to get her satisfaction anyway. I was doomed, and I gave up.

I just wanted it to be over.

I sat there, silent, for twenty minutes waiting for Poppy to return. During that, I tried to think of any happy memories I could conjure up, but I couldn't think of anything. Not in my present state.

"I'm back." Poppy returned with two big buckets of boiling water. "You're in for a real treat, Lizzie," she said cheerfully, placing the buckets at my feet. I watched warily as she added vervain to them.

Blood, fresh and old, covered every square inch of my body. My clothes were torn and bloody. I was drenched in sweat. My hair was undoubtedly a knotted up mess. My face was stained with blood, tears, and dirt. I probably looked like a wild woman.

Poppy lifted up my feet, with nails still dug into them. I didn't bother to fight her. Then she dropped them into one bucket of boiling water, burning me in two ways. I let out a scream, eyes widening in torturous pain.

I didn't even see it coming when Poppy took the other bucket and dumped it over my entire body. The howl that came out of me was more animal than human, than vampire. Poppy had truly transformed me into a monster, into a beast.

_**~LG~**_

Lily walked into the original mansion without knocking. She was there for two reasons, to see two different brothers.

"Lilianna, what are you doing here?"

Lily tried to smile as she turned around, but she wasn't capable of smiling anymore. Elijah frowned as soon as he saw his old friend, eyes red, cheeks puffy.

"I-I just wanted to say goodbye, Elijah," Lily started. "Damon and I are leaving town."

Elijah's frown deepened. "Why?"

Lily took a deep breath. "Something really, really, really bad happened and we can't stay here any longer."

Elijah opened his mouth to ask what had Lily so sad, so upset, when he was beaten by his brother. "What are you doing here, Lilianna?"

Klaus' voice was cold as he regarded his brother's friend and his lover's best friend. When Lily's big silvery gray eyes focused on him, they were filled with sympathy. She took a hesitant step towards him.

"I don't know how to tell you this," she said, and Klaus frowned slightly. "There's no good way to, not really." Lily closed her eyes and took another deep breath. It took all her strength to choke the words out.

"Elizabeth's dead."

At first, Klaus thought he had misheard her. Elizabeth couldn't be dead. It wasn't possible. She had to be at some bar somewhere, waiting impatiently for him to get over himself and forgive her for something she had every right to do.

But as soon as he met Lily's eyes, he knew he had heard her right. She wasn't lying. Elizabeth was dead.

Elijah's eyes instantly went to his brother, who looked to be in shock. Lily looked down at her shoes and then pulled the locket and a folded piece of paper out of her pocket. She silently handed them to Klaus, and he took them almost automatically. Her eyes conveyed more sympathy, more understanding than her words ever would. Then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

Klaus' gaze flickered to Elijah once before, he too, flashed from the room. He found himself in his bedroom, where he crushed the locket and sketch of Elizabeth in his grip. He gritted his teeth, preferred rage washing through him instead of the deadly pain that threatened to overcome him.

Klaus smashed tables, bookcases, chairs. Anything his hands touched, he broke. None of his siblings bothered him. He supposed Elijah told them what had happened. He didn't care. The only thing that mattered to him was that the woman he loved more than anything was dead, gone from this world. And the last words he said to her were "Leave, before I kill you. Leave, Elizabeth."

That was the moment Klaus realized how important last words were.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **prepare yourself for some hopefully intense torturing sessions. I blame all twisted torturing ideas on purpleXorchid, my impatient torturing consultant.

Thank you to: , Elle, Katerina The Von, AurumnGirl104, Lady Syndra, and GraciousSavior for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	64. vanilla and roses

**Chapter sixty three**

Vanilla and roses

_Elizabeth_

I was bent forward in my chair, the ropes tied around my wrists and ankles being the only things keeping me from face planting on the ground. Soft groans and moans came out of my mouth on their own accord, and my eyes were half closed. I was so used to the pain inflicted on every part of my body, I had almost went numb. Half-healed burns were scattered around my body, nails still stuck into me. I tried hard not to move, or it'd just hurt even more.

"Elizabeth."

My very first thought that came to me when I heard my name was how much I loved hearing "Elizabeth" said in that accent. A small smile came to my lips. I could easily listen to that accent all day.

"Oh, Elizabeth."

Then I frowned slightly when I realized I wasn't imagining that accent saying my name. It was real.

"Klaus?" my voice was harsh and low, barely audible. Klaus heard me, though.

I looked up at him, leaning almost casually against a stone wall. He regarded me almost coldly, his arms crossed over his chest. "Are- are you going to save me?" I asked him, my voice toneless, my eyes dull. I felt hope twitch inside of me. Maybe I wouldn't die here after all.

"Now why would I do that?" Klaus uncrossed his arms and began to walk slowly towards me. There was a hint of a smirk on his lips.

I frowned, my eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Y-you're going to just let me die here?" I flinched in pain as I tried to sit up. "I-I thought you loved me."

He laughed humorlessly. "Love is a vampire's greatness weakness, Elizabeth," he reminded me. "And you are not worth being considered weak. You're not worth anything."

The pain my heart was more intense than any physical pain I felt at that moment. "You tried to kill me, Elizabeth," Klaus whispered, leaning into me. Our faces were so close, I could feel his breath on my face.

"I'm sorry," I said, a single tear rolling down my cheek. "Please, I love you."

Klaus acted as if I hadn't spoken. "It's only fair that I return the favor," he continued. Then he sunk his hand into my chest.

I gasped, my eyes popping open. I looked around, in search of Klaus. But he wasn't there, to rescue me or to kill me. It had just been a dream.

Cackling made me turn my head to the side to see a smug Poppy. "Really, it's too easy to get into your head, Lizzie," she told me. "It's too easy to find out your greatest fears. And Klaus not loving you is definitely one of your greatest fears. I just threw in the heart ripping to make it more dramatic."

I sighed, rolling my head to the other side. "Burn in hell, blood skank," I said simply. My voice was still rough, as if I hadn't used it in days. There was still intense pain throughout my entire body. The nails in my skin felt like fire. The burns on my face, arms, and stomach felt ten times worse.

Poppy just kept smirking. I frowned suddenly. "How'd you get into my head? I had vervain in my system."

She rolled her eyes. "Did you not wonder why I've been cutting your major veins every ten minutes? I was bleeding you of vervain, Elizabeth. God, you're slow."

I rolled my eyes too. "Sorry if having boiling vervain water dumped on me and vervain dipped nails pushed into my skin has killed a few of my brain cells," I said dryly.

Poppy walked back to her table full of torturing tools. They were caked with my dry blood, and she picked up a knife with a long blade, dry blood staining it. "I'm supposed to wait for Rebekah, but we can play a few games while we wait."

I sighed. "I don't want to play any of your games, Poppy." I knew that all of them would involve, physical, mental, or emotional pain on my part. Hell, some of them probably involved all three.

"Unfortunately for you Lizzie, you don't get a choice." Poppy suddenly ripped my ropes off, and then dragged me over to a wall. I slumped against it, not even trying to get away from her. I just waited, resigned, for whatever Poppy had planned for me.

I shouted out in pain as Poppy stabbed my hand with a knife. It went all the way into the wall, pinning my right side to the wall. I cried out as she did the same thing with my left side. I was about three inches off the ground, held up only by the knives in my hands. I gritted my teeth to hold in my screams against the burning pain.

Poppy backed a few feet away from me, several knives in her hands. It only occurred to me that she planned to play some twisted version of darts when she threw a knife at me. it landed deep in my stomach, sinking into an organ. I let out a shout of pain.

"Ooh, let me try."

Rebekah smirked as Poppy handed her a rather scary looking knife, the blade long and wide. She turned back to me, and I didn't even have time to prepare myself before she threw it and it sunk into my throat.

Rebekah was finally here. Now the torturing was going to get kicked up a notch.

_**~LG~**_

Damon stared at the charm bracelet in his hand, the metal charms clinking together, making music. Music that reminded him of Elizabeth. He closed his hand tightly, the metal charms digging into his palm.

After a few minutes, Damon slipped the charm bracelet into his bag. He'd keep it with him, to remind him of his baby sister he lost for a second time in a hundred and forty six years. He knew that Lily was keeping her daylight ring, so he'd keep the charm bracelet he gave her.

Damon walked out of his bedroom, slowly making his way towards Elizabeth's. No one had gone in it since her ashes had been found. The door was shut tightly, preserving her memory in the room. He slowly turned the door knob and pushed it gently open, flinching when her scent hit him. Vanilla and roses.

Her bed was still messy, clothes still littered the floor. It was so easy to fool himself, that Elizabeth was just out at the bar or shopping with Lily, that she'd be back in an hour or two. Elizabeth couldn't be dead. How did Damon let that happen?

"What are we going to do with her room?"

Damon flinched at his brother's voice. Slowly, he turned away from his sister's messy room- she really was a bit of a slob- to face Stefan.

"I- I don't know," Damon said, his voice dull. "I feel like if we pack up her shit, it'll make… it more real." He couldn't bring himself to say "Elizabeth's death."

"We can leave it," Stefan agreed, "For a few weeks or months or years…"

"Or forever," Damon finished.

A ghost of a smile flickered across the younger Salvatore's face. Then it faded away as quickly as it had appeared. "What are we going to do with her ashes?" he asked quietly.

Damon shook his head. "I have no idea, Stefan," he said honestly, looking down at Elizabeth's frayed purple rug she had tossed carelessly on the floor.

"Lily and I are leaving," Damon blurted out suddenly, looking back up at his brother.

"I know," he said. "I heard you two talking."

Damon was silent for a few seconds. "You can come with us, you know," he said quietly. "I don't know where we're going, exactly. The whole point is to get out of Mystic Falls."

Stefan shook his head slowly. "I don't want to bother you two…"

"You won't," Damon said almost too quickly. "Hell, I think Lily would spend most of her time and energy worrying about you if you weren't with us."

Stefan looked like he was actually considering leaving. "I can't just leave Elena," he said finally.

"I'm not leaving you alone in this house, Stefan," Damon said shortly. Stefan looked up at him, startled.

"Not to be rude or anything, but why do you care, Damon?" he asked his brother honestly.

They both knew why, though. Damon just couldn't put it into words. He had already lost one younger sibling. It'd kill him if he lost another one.

"Lily," he said finally. Because no matter how much Elizabeth's death has changed him, he'd still never be able to admit that he cared about Stefan. "She'd want you to come with us."

Stefan knew the truth, though he didn't correct his brother. He was silent for a few moments, considering Damon's words. "I'll think about it," he said finally, before walking out of his baby sister's room.

Damon took one last look around the room, before walking out too. He shut the door tightly behind him.

_**~LG~**_

My voice was hoarse from screaming.

I didn't even realize I was screaming until Rebekah said, "Bloody hell, shut up!"

While she and Poppy played darts using me as the target, I had zoned out. I thought about other things as they stabbed me repeatedly with sharp objects. I thought about good things and bad things. I thought of happy memories and sad ones. I thought about how my last words to Lily were "I love ya, Lil. You're the bestest friend evah!" Granted, I was drunk out of my mind, but it still counted

But then the last memory I had of Klaus, he hated me. I didn't get so lucky with him. Our last time together would be me desperately trying to get him to forgive me, and him being angry enough to kill. He'd never get the chance to forgive me. I'd never get the chance to convince him I really, truly loved him.

I was so lost in my thoughts, I had almost forgotten that I was being used as a human dart board. I hadn't realized I had been screaming.

I let out another scream as Rebekah twisted a knife that was stuck in my intestines. "That's for trying to kill my brother," she said through gritted teeth.

"It was a mistake," I told her, my voice almost gone. "I love him."

"He deserves better than you," she hissed at me. "Do you know, he wasn't even bothered by your death."

I shook my head slightly. "You're lying."

"Am I?" Rebekah raised an eyebrow, pulled her knife out, then stabbed my shoulder.

I hissed in pain. "He loves me, Rebekah," I said, but there was a hint of doubt in my voice that Rebekah sunk her teeth into.

"Really? Because I don't think you believe that, Lizzie," she taunted, before ripping the knives out of my hands. I fell to the ground with a groan, nothing more than a bloody heap. The impact drove the nails deeper into me, though.

Rebekah dragged me over to the chair again, but didn't bother to tie me up. She knew that even if I did have the strength to escape, I couldn't fight both her and Poppy off. She leaned in close and stared into my eyes. "Now, I want you take this knife and stab yourself until Poppy or I tell you to stop," she compelled me.

It was a strange and scary thing, being compelled. I had done it so many times to humans, I had forgotten about the times I had been compelled. You lost your free will, and the only thing on your mind was to do whatever the vampire had compelled you to do. I took the knife from Rebekah and promptly stabbed myself in the stomach. I groaned, pulled the knife out, and stabbed myself again. I couldn't stop.

Rebekah smirked and turned back to Poppy. "I'll be back. Don't kill her without me," she said cheerfully. Then Rebekah was gone.

_**~LG~**_

Klaus stared at the locket in his hand, resting face up in his palm. It still smelled like Elizabeth, though her scent was faded. Eventually, it would fade away. Her scent would fade away from the world and remain nothing more but a memory to him.

Klaus closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face. It killed him, Elizabeth's death. It killed him, knowing that he hadn't protected her. He should've kept her safe. But no, his pride had gotten in the way. It was always his pride that gotten in the way of him and Elizabeth. It was his pride that ruined them.

His eyes stung, but Klaus swore to himself that he wouldn't cry. He was stronger than that. Still, a tear fell down his cheek before he could stop it. He hastily wiped it away.

He'd never get the chance to fix things with Elizabeth. He'd never get the chance to tell her he loved her. That was the thing with death; it was sudden and came without warning. You almost never got the chance to say goodbye, to get closure.

What would Klaus do now? He needed something to distract him from the heartache that threatened to overcome him. He needed something to distract him from the loss. His hybrids, maybe. He'd leave town, leave the memories of both human and vampire Elizabeth behind. He'd move on, he'd have to.

Still, he didn't want to forget all about his Elizabeth. He'd hold on tightly to a few choice memories. Her smile- a cross between a grin and a smirk. Her long legs. Her laugh. Her eyes. The very first time Elizabeth told him she loved him, the day she promised she'd never leave him alone, their dance in the rain. Then there was their vacation to Hawaii. And the first time Elizabeth told him she loved him when she was a vampire. And then when she chose him over that Gilbert boy…

There were so many happy memories.

Klaus tucked Elizabeth's locket into his pocket and then left his room. He didn't know where he'd go, but he needed fresh air. He needed to distract himself so that he wouldn't let the regret and guilt eat him alive.

He'd never get to tell Elizabeth just how much he loved her. She died thinking he hated her.

Klaus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He had to stop thinking. He'd wish he'd stop thinking.

Klaus walked aimlessly throughout his mansion. One could walk for days in that house and not cover the entire place. He ran into Rebekah about ten minutes after he started walking. He knew she knew about Elizabeth's death, but Rebekah didn't offer her condolences. He was thankful for that. He knew it'd be insincere, and he didn't need any more reminders of her passing.

"Nik." The blonde nodded at him as she passed him, and that's when the scent hit Klaus.

Vanilla and roses.

He stiffened, sure he had imagined it. But no, Elizabeth's scent was clear in the air. It was fresh, too, and mixed with the smell of her blood.

And it came straight from Rebekah.

Without thinking, Klaus grabbed his sister and slammed her against the wall. He glared at her, and Rebekah's eyes were wide with shock.

"_What the bloody-"_

"Why do you smell like Elizabeth?" Klaus growled. "Why do you smell like her?"

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **two more chapters plus and epilogue left!

Thanks: AutumnGirl104, dragonrain618, thehoodedface, Lady Syndra, Elle, and Katerina The Von for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	65. my hero

**Chapter sixty four**

My hero

_Elizabeth_

"Okay! Okay! You can stop, Lizzie!"

I let out a groan of pain and dropped the knife. It clattered to the floor, landing in a pool of my blood. The same blood dripped from my hands, trickled in long quantities from my stomach, and stained every inch of my body. I had stabbed myself in the stomach forty seven times.

Poppy was laughing to herself as faint moans fell from my lips. My eyes fell closed and I wanted nothing more than to fall asleep at that moment. Then I felt like I was on fire.

My eyes popped open and I shrieked in pain. I fell from the chair, since I had yet to get tied back into it. But even on the ground, I wasn't out of the sunlight and I didn't have the strength to move. Poppy watched me burn with a twisted smile on her lips. Ten seconds went by, and I expected her to pull the curtain back over the window, but she didn't. I could feel the sun burning me down to the bone. I would go up in flames any second, and then I would be a goner. I would be beyond saving if I went up in flames.

I closed my eyes, preparing myself for death. I didn't know whether to expect a white light or a grim reaper. If God would appear and forgive me for my sins, or if the devil himself would be welcoming me to hell. I didn't know what death was like, despite the fact that I had tasted it briefly before.

Then it was over. Poppy pulled the curtain back and the sun was gone. Breathy sighs of relief fell from me, as my intense burns started to heal. But healing was something my body had become far less efficient at, since Poppy had started to torture me. I hadn't had blood in days. I would start to desiccate if I didn't blood soon. Or if I didn't die. Whichever came first.

"Come on, Lizzie," Poppy said, roughly gripping my body and forcing me back into my bloody chair. "Back in your chair."

I slumped in it. I had never wanted to die more than I did at that moment. I had almost become numb to the pain. I had no hope left in me. The only thing I hoped for was that Poppy would kill me before I started to desiccate. Desiccation was the worst. You had no blood left in your body. Your veins were dry and they rubbed together. You could almost hear them. You couldn't move or talk. Air felt like fire in your lungs. The only thing you could do was open your eyes, though that drained any energy you had left.

"Why, Poppy?" I asked. My voice sounded like a stranger's. Rough and weak and strained. "Why are you so hell bent on making sure I had a very suffering death? Because you love Klaus?"

"I do _not _love Klaus," Poppy said quickly, glaring at me. "Love is a vampire's greatest weakness. Klaus himself drilled that into my head. And yet, a hundred and forty six years ago, he met you and he was throwing his own rules to the side." Sh sounded bitter as she said.

"Technically, Klaus and I first met a hundred and forty seven years ago," I corrected her. Poppy responded by breaking my arm. I didn't even have the strength to scream out in pain.

"If that's not why you're torturing me, then why is it?" I asked her, my eyes trained on her. I was curious as to why Poppy hated me so much. We were close, decades ago. We called ourselves sisters. Granted, that was also when I was a ripper, when I was one of the worst killers on the planet.

Poppy shrugged. "There are a lot of reasons, Lizzie. Klaus would stop being the love struck idiot you turned him into. Lily would lose a person she loves. The Salvatore brothers would lose their precious baby sister. This world would lose the pathetic excuse for a vampire you've turned into. It'd be fun to kill you. I was bored. There are a lot of reasons." She smirked at me, silently daring me to argue with that.

"You know what I think?" I asked, my gaze unwavering.

"For your own good, you should shut up right now, Elizabeth," Poppy warned me.

I ignored her. "I think you hate me, you want me dead, because I replaced you. I replaced you as a sister to Lily, and I replaced you as a lover to Klaus. He fell in love with me, a stupid, irrelevant human, and then he changed me. And that drives you crazy. It should have been you, Poppy. If Klaus were to have fallen in love with any girl, it should have been you. You were the first human he turned. You two had hooked up countless times in many different countries and time periods. You even helped him break his hybrid curse. Yet, he didn't fall for you. He saw you two as friends with benefits, nothing more. And you see it as your right to be the woman Klaus were to love, if he ever did. And I took that away from you. You want me dead, Poppy, because I took Klaus and Lily from you."

Poppy watched me a long time. We both knew I was right. Still, she shook her head. "You're wrong, Elizabeth," she told me.

"I'm not though, that's the thing."

Poppy gritted her teeth. And then, in one swift motion, she grabbed a wooden stake from her torture table and shoved it through my vocal chords, so I couldn't talk anymore.

I choked on my own blood, horrific gurgling sounds coming from me. But Poppy was already sorting through her tools. I watched her, pain shooting through my body, my throat feeling like fire. I knew at that moment that I wouldn't have to worry about desiccation.

I would be dead by the time the sun went down.

_**~LG~**_

"What did you do, Rebekah?"

Klaus and Rebekah had been close ever since they were humans. But ever since Rebekah had been undaggered, things had been tense between them. Elizabeth had been one reason, Klaus killing her had been the other.

Still, Rebekah looked up with defiance at her big brother. "I don't know what you're talking about, Nik," she said casually, as if Klaus' hand wasn't around her throat, cutting off her air supply every now and then.

"Why do you smell like Elizabeth?" he demanded. "Elizabeth is _dead." _He lost some of his conviction, pausing when he choked the words out. Then his eyes narrowed and he glared at his only sister. "What did you do, Rebekah?"

"Nothing, I don't know why you'd think I smell like her," Rebekah insisted. "Maybe her death is hitting you harder than you thought."

Klaus' grip on Rebekah's shoulders tightened and he slammed her against the wall. "Don't tell me I'm going crazy," he growled. He wasn't. He wasn't imagining Elizabeth's scent. Even now, he could smell it. Vanilla and roses. It was practically radiating off of Rebekah.

"Just tell me," he demanded. "Tell me why, Rebekah."

"There's nothing to tell, Nik!" she shouted, almost convincing him. But still, Klaus knew better. He knew his sister better. She was lying to him, hiding something from him.

"Rebekah!" Then Klaus slammed her hard enough to put a whole in the wall.

"Alright!" Rebekah shouted. Poppy was going to be so, so pissed at her. But Rebekah couldn't take it anymore. She had to tell Klaus the truth.

"She's alive, Nik," she said quietly. "Elizabeth is alive."

Time froze. At least, it did to Klaus. He stepped back away from Rebekah, as if she had a deadly illness and was contagious. "What?" he breathed, feeling as if the air had been knocked out of him.

"She's alive," Rebekah repeated. "Poppy and I-" she cut herself off. This was the part where Klaus was more than likely to rip her throat out.

"Poppy and I faked her death," Rebekah continued. "So we could torture and kill her without anybody looking for her and ruining the plan."

Klaus stared hard at his sister, trying to process everything. His Elizabeth was _alive. _

At least, for now.

The thought that Poppy was out there, torturing his beloved Elizabeth made boiling rage rush through Klaus. He had to save her. He had to make sure that Elizabeth didn't die on him again.

"Where is she?" he demanded coldly, his glare causing Rebekah to stiffen.

She quickly told him the location of the abandoned house Elizabeth was in, and then Klaus was gone. He would have taken care of Rebekah first, if he hadn't known he was short on time.

Rebekah watched her brother go. Nothing could save her from his wrath now.

Rebekah left and ran to her room. She quickly packed her things. She had to get out of Mystic Falls before Klaus returned. That would be the only way she'd manage to stay alive.

_**~LG~**_

My screams were smothered by the water.

Bubbles formed, popping when they hit the surface. Screaming was a mistake, though. When I opened my mouth, vervain water got in and burned my mouth and throat. Poppy yanked me out of the bucket of vervain water by my hair, and I gasped for air.

My head was dripping wet and covered in burns. The water had washed off some of the blood, sweat, and dirt on my skin, though. Poppy threw me across the room, and I hit a stone wall with a groan of pain.

As Poppy stalked towards me, I realized that my time was up. Poppy was bored with torturing me. I was going to die right now. And instead of being afraid, of wanting more time, I felt relief. I was going to die. I wasn't happy, per say. I was just relieved that I wouldn't have to endure anymore pain.

Poppy yanked me up and slammed me against a wall. Her glare was intense enough to kill. I stared carelessly back. Then she sunk her hand into my chest.

They say that, before you die, your life flashes before your eyes. Or, at least, the important parts. The best parts and the worst. I didn't know if it was just my imagination, but my life did flash before my eyes, all 162 years. The good parts and the bad. The most important parts.

I saw me and my brothers, children still. I saw us painting the cave we used to hide from father in. I saw me running into Klaus when I was fourteen, what started it all. I saw me hugging Damon goodbye as he left to join the confederate army, tears in my eyes. I saw me dancing with Klaus in the rain. Me telling him I loved him for the first time. I saw Klaus' rage filled face before he forced his blood down my throat and snapped my neck.

I saw Alexander Fell, saving my life. I saw my brothers' dead bodies in the middle of the road. I saw my first kill. I saw Poppy and me tearing throats out together. Lily taking me from the alley, fresh blood still staining my face. I saw me breaking down as I finally turned my humanity back on. I saw my fight with Stefan in the alley behind the Grill. The first time I saw Damon since 1864. My first kiss with Jeremy. Seeing Klaus for the first time since 1864. I saw me breakup with Jeremy. Turning my humanity off for the second time. Trying to kill myself- twice. I saw me planning Klaus' murder. I saw me slowly letting Klaus in again. I saw Klaus telling me he loves me for the first time. I saw me finally telling him I love him too since 1864. Then I saw our huge fight over me trying to kill him.

That had been my life. That was what I was leaving behind.

I closed my eyes against the flashbacks, not sure what I was preparing myself for. I could feel Poppy's hand, right around my beating heart.

Then it was gone.

I was sure I was dead, when I felt Poppy's hand let go of my heart. I was sure that death was quick, painless too. Or that I was so numb I couldn't feel anything anymore. Then I opened my eyes and saw Klaus rip Poppy's head off.

I slumped against the wall, fully realizing that I wasn't, in fact, dead. I was still alive. And despite the fact that I had been sure Klaus hated me, he still rescued me. Somehow, he had rescued me. Again.

I watched Klaus glare at Poppy's decapitated corpse, wipe his hands on his shirt, and mutter, "I should have done that a long time ago." Then his eyes met mine, and all anger washed from his features.

We must have stared at each other for ages, neither of us able to move, but for different reasons. Then, slowly, Klaus walked towards me. "I-I thought you were dead, Elizabeth," he said quietly, as if just saying the words exhausted him.

"So did I," I responded, my voice almost completely gone. Klaus came to a stop in front of me. We stared at each other some more. And then, suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to be in Klaus' arms. I craved to have him hold me, to lay my head on his strangely comfortable shoulder. Still, I wasn't entirely convinced that I was safe. After all, I had been convinced for days that I was going to die.

Then Klaus picked me up in one fluid motion, hugging me tightly to him, despite the fact that my blood and vervain water was getting on him. I moaned into his shirt, since he had unknowingly dug the nails that I had forgotten were there even deeper into my body.

"I thought you were dead," he repeated into my wet hair.

All I could do was wrap my arms tightly around his neck and try not to cry. But Klaus must have felt me crying softly into his shoulder, because he just hugged me tighter, and mumbled "You're okay now, love" over and over again.

I closed my eyes and let myself believe that.

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **One more chapter plus the epilogue!

Thanks: Synyster.A7X, Katerina The Von, kate, Elle, AutumnGirl104, dragonrain618, Lady Syndra, BeckyBoo12221, and EV3 for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	66. recovering

**Chapter sixty five**

Recovering

_Elizabeth_

I gasped and shook with silent screams. But I couldn't breathe, I had no voice. White-hot pain hit me over and over again, coming in waves and lasting what could have been either seconds or hours. My vision came in flashes, usually a burst of sunlight as it burned me, a long, silver knife as it sliced me down to the bone. My own unheard screams echoed in my ears. Only I could hear them, hear the fear and pain lost in the shrieks.

Then I saw a flash of blonde hair, and Poppy's face appeared, twisted with sick amusement. I felt her hot breath on my neck as she leaned into my ear. "You're gonna die, Lizzie," she whispered roughly. "You're gonna die and no one's gonna care."

Then her hand sunk into my chest, her nails digging into my beating heart. Suddenly, Poppy's head fell off, blood spurting and crimson drops splattered onto my face. My eyes widened at the horrific sight. But Poppy's grip on my heart didn't release. She dug her nails farther into my heart, and my silent screams roared in my ears.

Poppy's headless corpse ripped my heart out of my body, but I didn't die. I stared at my heart in her bloody grip, still beating. Beating. Beating. Beating.

The pounding of my heart rushed in my ears, loud, as if the beats were being amplified. Then the loud, horrific beats were accompanied by my screams, no longer silent.

"Elizabeth!"

I gasped, my hand going to my chest, right over my heart. It was still thumping wildly in my chest, where it should have been. I took deep breathes. I could breathe, scream, talk. It was just a nightmare.

A nightmare based on reality.

"You're alright, love."

I nodded, feeling shaky and self-conscious. Klaus stared down at me, his eyes full of concern. I met his gaze before looking away and settling back down into the bed I was in. Klaus' bed, I realized.

"You were screaming," he informed me. "A nightmare, I assume?"

I nodded, unable to find my voice. My eyes darted around Klaus' familiar room, looking for Poppy. Was she still out there? Was she going to torture me again?

I didn't want to go through any of that ever again.

Klaus, as if sensing my distress, squeezed my hand comfortingly. "You're safe now, love," he assured me softly. "I'll protect you."

Despite the fact that part of my mind registered that our last conversation was a huge fight, and that I had done something most would consider unforgiveable, I found comfort not only in Klaus' words, but in his presence in general.

I relaxed and stared soundlessly up at the ceiling. Klaus seemed concerned by my silence, but didn't say anything about it. Instead, he turned his attention back onto my right arm. As I woke up and relaxed, I suddenly recognized the intense pain I had been all but numb to twelve hours earlier. I gritted my teeth in pain, trying to keep the tears from falling. But I couldn't help the yelp that escaped my throat when Klaus yanked a nail out of my arm.

"Sorry, love," he apologized. "But they'll hurt even more if I leave them in."

I nodded slightly and watched the hole in my skin heal slowly. Most of my injuries had healed already- Klaus must of force fed me blood in my sleep. Only the more severe burns were left, but they were slowly healing. And then there were the hundreds of nails in me. They hurt even more when I moved, so I tried to remain as still as possible.

"I managed to get all of the ones in your legs and stomach, most of them in your right arm out. You don't even want to know how many I pulled out- and we're only halfway done," Klaus informed me.

I sighed. Poppy was such a bitch. _A dead bitch, _I reminded myself. Poppy was dead. She couldn't hurt me anymore. Klaus had beheaded her.

I gritted my teeth as Klaus pulled out the remaining five nails in my arm. It hurt more going out than it did going in. Half an hour later, Klaus had pulled all of the nails from my body, and I had managed to keep my screams to a minimum.

"Here, love," he said, handing me a glass of blood. "Drink up."

I practically drained the entire thing in seconds. Klaus chuckled slightly and handed me another glass. The blood healed any remaining scarring on my body. It was almost as if I had never been tortured in the first place.

Klaus watched me carefully as I pulled my knees up to my chin and drank my blood like I was starving- which I was. When I was finished, I set my glass aside and ran a hand through my dirty hair. I could've really used a shower.

"This is a very stupid question, since you've just been tortured for the second time, had a terrifying nightmare, and haven't spoken since I rescued you, but how are you doing, Elizabeth?" he asked softly.

I shrugged but didn't say anything else. Klaus sighed, frustrated and worried by my silence. I didn't meet his eyes, and instead studied my dirt and blood caked nails. I desperately needed a shower.

I was worried. Worried that as soon as the high from saving me from Poppy wore off, Klaus would go back to hating me. He'd realize that he didn't love me anymore, after what I did, and he'd think that he should have let Poppy kill me. And I couldn't handle that. Not with my fragile psyche.

"Are you ever going to talk, ever? Or you just going to remain mute the rest of your existence?" Klaus asked me. I just shrugged again.

He sighed again, visibly frustrated. I couldn't help but smirk down at the blanket that was wrapped around me. It was the first thin even remotely related to a smile on my lips in days, and it felt kind of strange. Klaus seemed to brighten up at the sight of it, though.

"Can I just tell you how… happy I am that you're alive, Elizabeth?" Klaus told me softly, gently pushing a lock of hair out of my face.

I raised an eyebrow at that. Was he really? Or was he just caught up in playing hero? "Happy, ecstatic, relieved. There are a thousand words to describe how I feel right now, yet none of them are right." Klaus continued to stroke my hair, and it gave me more comfort- comfort I desperately needed.

I closed my eyes. For the first time since Poppy kidnaped me and faked my death, I felt safe. Still, I believed it too good to be true. My near-death experience didn't change the fact that I still tried to kill Klaus. He couldn't of forgotten about that.

Klaus continued to talk as if I hadn't gone mute on my own choice. "Rebekah is still out there. But don't worry, love. I won't let her hurt you. Even if that means I have to hunt down my own sister-"

"Don't." my voice was rough and sounded like a stranger's voice. Klaus' eyebrows furrowed, though he seemed relieved that I was talking.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Don't hunt down Rebekah," I clarified, clearing my throat. "She's not stupid enough to try to attack me again. Poppy was the leader, anyway. Rebekah had just been her lackey." I finally met Klaus' blue eyes. "Besides, she didn't do it out of anger or because she hated me. She did it because she thought my death would be the best thing for you. And I can respect that."

Klaus sighed. "You really don't want her dead?" he asked me.

I nodded. "She's your sister, Klaus. Remember that."

He sighed again. "Fine, then I'll let her be. I'm not going to forgive her, though. Not ever."

I shrugged. "That's your choice."

Silence ensued. I looked away from Klaus, falling back into muteness. Klaus just kept brushing my hair behind my ear and leaned in towards me. "I-" he started to say, but I cut him off.

"Don't, okay?" I met his eyes again. "You're still in hero mode. When that wears off, you'll go back to hating me and what you were about to say won't mean anything. So please don't say it. It'll do more bad than good."

His eyebrows furrowed. "First of all, I could never _hate _you, Elizabeth. Never."

My eyebrows furrowed too. "I tried to kill you. Or did you forget that?"

"Well, then, I think we're even, you and I. You made an attempt at my life and I ended yours. Though I think, if we would ever like to have even a semi-functional relationship, we should probably stop trying to kill each other," he said lightly.

I was still confused. "The Klaus I know would take a century or two to even think about forgiving me for trying to kill him. That's if he hadn't ripped my heart out first."

Klaus flinched. I had forgotten that he had found me with Poppy's hand in my chest. If he had been a second late, I wouldn't be alive at that moment.

"I had been convinced for 39 hours that you were dead- the worst 39 hours of my entire existence. Do you think irrelevant details such as your plot to murder me matter anymore, after those 39 hours? They don't, Elizabeth. I love you, and nothing, not even a plot against my life, would ever change that. I'm sorry that it took your death to make me realize that."

I stared up at Klaus skeptically. "Are you sure?" I asked quietly.

He nodded and then leaned even closer so that I could feel his breath on my face. "I love you, Elizabeth," he told me softly. "And I'll say it as many times as you need me too, until you believe it."

Slowly, I began to accept the truth. Klaus wasn't in "hero mode." He just loved me. He loved me enough to forgive me. It took my "death" to make him realize that, but he still loved me. And I loved him too. Enough to forgive him for everything he's done to me, just like he's forgiven me for the things I've done to him.

We were in love. It was a dysfunctional love, but love none the less.

"Thank you, for saving me. For the third time," I whispered hoarsely, my eyes still staring into his.

"Anytime love," he said easily.

I brought my hand up to his cheek. "I love you too, you know," I told him.

And then, for the first time since I had been tortured, I felt not only safe and loved, I felt healed. That feeling only lasted the length of the kiss Klaus gave me, but it still put me on the road to being healed from not only the physical damage Poppy caused me, but the mental damage too. It would take me a long time to recover, though. Centuries to be completely, a hundred percent healed. But I had Klaus back. And that helped more than I could ever tell him.

_**~LG~**_

After I showered and changed into clothes that I had left in Klaus' room, the first thing that occurred to me was that my family still thought I was dead. And then Klaus told me that Lily and Damon planned to leave Mystic Falls.

"I have to see them. I can't let them go any longer thinking I was dead," I insisted, pushing my damp hair out of my face.

Klaus nodded, though he didn't seem keen on the idea of being away from me. I honestly didn't want to be away from him either, no matter how clingy that made me sound. But I had to be with my family too.

"You'll have to wait until the sun goes down." Klaus nodded at the window, where the setting sun was visible. I sighed impatient. I didn't know where my daylight ring was.

Klaus wrapped his arms around me from behind and I leaned against him. I found it hard to stay out of his arms, and Klaus found it hard not to have me there. "I almost forgot," he said suddenly. "I have something that belongs to you."

Klaus pulled away, then reached into his pocket and pulled my locket out. I smiled at the sight of it. Poppy and Rebekah and stripped me of all of my jewelry when they kidnaped me. I pulled my hair out of the way and Klaus clasped the locket around my neck.

I turned back around and wrapped my arms around his neck. Then his lips met mine and we stayed like that for the remainder of the sunset. Only when the sun had completely gone down, did I pull away from Klaus and slowly back towards the door.

"I don't know when I'll be back," I told him, "But I'll return as soon as possible."

"Take your time," Klaus said good naturedly. "They are your family, after al."

I smiled at him. "I love you," I told him almost casually.

He smiled softy back. "As I love you."

It was almost hard, leaving Klaus, but I reminded myself that I was safe now. I'd see him again soon. Nobody was left to hurt me. Poppy was gone.

Now the only hard task was breaking the news to my family that I was alive without putting them into shock.

When I walked into the boarding house, I could hear faint noises from upstairs. Hopefully Lily and Damon hadn't left yet. I slowly made my way towards the stairs. What was the best way to go about revealing that you weren't, in fact, dead to your family?

I stopped when I heard footsteps behind me. Then there was the sound of glass shattering, and turned around to face Lily, eyes wide, frozen in shock. There was a broken glass at her feet.

"E-Elizabeth?" she looked at me as if I was a ghost. "Is that you?"

I suddenly felt the urge to cry, looking at my best friend. "Yeah Lil, it's me," I said softly.

"How? How is this possible?" she was still frozen. "You're dead. You're dead, Elizabeth. You burned in the sun. You're dead," she repeated over and over again, almost hysterically.

I stepped towards Lily. "I'm alive, Lily. It's a long story, but I'm alive," I assured her, before pulling her into a hug.

She was stiff in my arms, still in shock. I just hugged her tightly, my eyes burning with tears. Finally, Lily wrapped her arms tightly around me, squeezing me really hard. I didn't mind, though. I felt Lily shake, and she cried into my shoulder.

"_I thought you were dead," _she sobbed, and then I finally let out my tears too.

"I'm not, Lily. I'm so, so sorry you thought that. I'm fine. I'm alive," I promised her.

"Lily? Are you ready to g-"

I pulled away from her, but kept one arm around my best friend. Then I smiled up at my eldest brother.

"Hi Damon," I said, not knowing what else to say.

His eyes were wide, and he backed away from me. "Lizzie?" he breathed.

I pulled away from Lily and stepped towards him. "I'm alive," I told him.

"How?"

"I was never dead." Then, because I couldn't help myself, I threw myself into Damon's arms. I was alive and I was with my family. Damon was stiff in my arms- he still couldn't believe it.

"Stefan!" I shouted, still hugging Damon as if my life depended on it. "Stefan, get down here!"

Stefan appeared at the stairs, eyes wide at the sound of my voice. "L-Lizzie-" I didn't even give him time to let the fact that I was still alive sink in. I hugged him tightly too. It felt good, making sure that my family was real, solid. That this all wasn't some twisted dream Poppy had given me.

"How are you alive?"

I smiled at my family, wiping my tears away. They were slowly coming out of their shock. "Long story short, Rebekah and Poppy faked my death, kidnapped and tortured me, and then Klaus saved me," I explained.

Damon was shaking his head, muttering "you're dead" over and over again. That was okay, though. He'd accept the truth sooner or later. It'd just take some time, to have it sink in.

Then Lily was hugging me again. "You ever do that to me again-" her voice cut off into another sob.

I squeezed her back tightly. "I don't plan to, Lily. I don't plan too." I turned back to my brothers. "How about we take this reunion to the living room? I think we could all use a drink."

I slowly lead my family into the living room. My fake death had taken a toll on a lot of different people, me included. But we would all recover eventually. That was one good thing about being a vampire- you literally had all the time in the world.

Poppy's torturing had seriously screwed with my head. I knew had more terrible nightmares in my future. But I had my family back. And I had Klaus. I'd recover eventually, I had to.

As I tossed back a shot of whiskey, the familiar burn comforting, I realized one good thing that had come out of the horrific mess that had been my life while Poppy was torturing me. This was the first time ever where everything in my life was fine, completely normal. There were no lies going on, no plots to kill anybody. There were no crazy blondes trying to kill me. Everything was fine. I was fine.

And knowing that helped me recover a little bit more.

**The end**

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **I'll have the epilogue up tomorrow!

Thanks to: Katerina The Von, dragonrain616, Elle, kate, and Lady Syndra for reviewing!

Review the last chapter, pretty please :)

~Abby!


	67. epilogue: two years later

**Epilogue: two years later**

_Elizabeth_

I watched Lily hum softly to herself, as she cleaned up the living room. I was still, waiting for the perfect opening to strike. When she was focused on piling the empty glasses into her arms, I pounced. The glasses shattered as I tackled Lily to the ground, but we didn't pay any attention.

I pinned Lily to the ground, let my veins darken, eyes go red, and fangs to extend, and then I growled in her face. Lily's eyes widened at the sight of me, and then she laughed and threw her arms around me.

"What are you doing here, Lizzie?" she asked me, and I smiled, my face going back to normal, and hugged her back.

"I decided to launch a sneak attack on you guys today," I told her, grinning. Then I pulled away and stood up.

"Where are you and Klaus living right now?" Lily asked me, standing up too.

"New York City," I replied. When Klaus and I left Mystic Falls last year, we went straight to New York and never left.

"Does he know you left?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and I rolled my eyes. Ever since Klaus went thirty nine hours thinking I was dead, he had been overly protective of me- as had all my loved ones- but Lily always said that he was borderline possessive of me.

Klaus wasn't possessive of me, though- not really. He was just protective. He didn't want to lose me again. I still had my independence, my free will. Lily was just bitter because she didn't see me every day, that I didn't live with my family anymore.

"Yes, he does. Klaus knows that I was missing my family and needed to spend some quality time with them- but it's not like I need his permission or anything," I said shortly and Lily sighed.

"You're right, 'I'm sorry. I just missed you Lizzie," she said and hugged me again.

"Where are my brothers?" I asked after I pulled away from her.

"Stefan's with Elena, but Damon should be around here somewhere. We're actually going a trip in a few hours." Lily bit her lip. "If I'd known you were coming, I'd have bought the tickets for next week. We can always just go after you leave-"

"Its fine, Lily," I cut her off, shaking my head. "I can come back when you and Damon get back. Now, I'm gonna go find my big brother."

I walked up the stairs to Damon and Lily's bedroom. I didn't bother to knock- I just walked right in. I found Damon sitting on the bed, holding something small and shiny in the palm of his hand.

It was a ring.

"Oh. My. God."

Damon's eyes snapped up to me, and his hand closed around the engagement ring. I stared wide eyed at my big brother. "Is that-?" I tried to choke out, shocked to the core.

"Shut up, Lizzie!" he hissed at me.

"That's- that's an _engagement-!"_

"_Shut up, Elizabeth!"_

Damon clamped his hand over my mouth, glaring. "Don't say anything, she might hear you," he whispered.

I was still in shock though. My brother, Damon Salvatore, had an engagement ring.

He was going to ask Lily to marry him.

My entire face lit up. "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" I shrieked against Damon's hand. "Oh my God!"

Damon rolled his eyes and took his hand away. "You don't even know what I'm planning on doing, Elizabeth," he muttered.

"I do! Lily's going to be my sister!" I exclaimed excitedly.

"She hasn't said yes yet," he reminded me.

"But she's going to! I'll make her! Just so we can be considered sisters! Lily Salvatore. I like it!" I was excited, so excited. Damon rolled his eyes.

"I take it I have your blessing, Lizzie?" he asked sarcastically.

But then I frowned, realizing something. No matter how much Damon loved Lily, he wasn't the marriage type. I never would have expected them to get married. If they did, I'd guess after a few centuries together, maybe a millennium. I remembered a conversation we had years ago, when I first found out they were together. I was teasing Damon about marriage. I never imagined that it would actually happen, though.

But still, Lily was going to be my sister!

"Why are you asking her, Damon? I thought you were never going to get married," I said, barely containing my excitement.

He shrugged. "I never planned to get married," he replied simply. "But Lily always said that she wanted to get married one day, just to say she did. We were usually drunk when she said that, but still. And if Lily's gonna marry anybody, it's gonna be me. I really don't see the point of marriage- it's not going to make me love her any more- but it'll make her happy. And I actually like the sound of Mrs. Lily Salvatore." A hint of a smile flitted across Damon's face.

"You can't say anything, Lizzie. Okay?" he gave me a hard look.

I nodded. "Of course not." Then I hugged him. "I'm so happy for you two! Really, I am."

Damon rolled his eyes but hugged me back. "You're just happy that you and Lily are going to be technically sisters," he muttered.

"Yeah, basically." Damon chuckled.

"It's nice to have you back, Elizabeth," he told me.

"It's nice to be back," I said with a smile. "Now let me see the ring!"

_**~LG~**_

After Damon and Lily left for the airport, I went looking for Stefan. I knew he knew that Damon was proposing on the trip. I was excited, mostly because Lily and I would really be sisters. And I knew she'd say yes, too. She and Damon were madly in love with each other.

I walked through town, heading towards the Grill. Mystic Falls hadn't changed much in the year I've been gone. I had wanted to get out of the town- I knew that I'd help me recover- and Klaus agreed to take me wherever I wanted to go. I chose the city that never sleeps.

I was so lost in thoughts of wedding plans that I walked right into somebody.

"Oh, sorry-" the familiar voice cut off, and I frowned and looked up.

My eyes widened slightly and I took a step back.

"Jeremy."

He looked different, older. He was eighteen now. I smiled awkwardly up at him. The last time we had talked, I was choosing Klaus over him- a decision I had never regretted. Still, it was strange and awkward seeing Jeremy.

"Elizabeth." He nodded before pausing. "How have you been?"

I smiled up at him. "Great, for the most part."

"Are you still with Klaus?" he asked abruptly.

I nodded. "Yeah, we're living in New York right now. I just stopped in for the day to see my brothers and Lily. Are you and Mallory still together?" For the first time, I didn't hate Mallory because she was with Jeremy. I was glad that he had somebody. Maybe Mallory was the one for Jeremy, like Klaus was the one for me.

He nodded again. "Yeah, we are," he said.

I smiled up at him softly. "Good, I'm happy for you, Jer."

He smiled slightly back. "Thanks. I love her, you know. I mean, she's the first human I dated," he joked, referring to the fact that his last three girlfriends had been vampires.

I offered him a smile. "Good, I'm glad." I looked over Jeremy's shoulder to see Stefan. "I gotta go, Jeremy. It was nice seeing you."

"You two, Elizabeth," he said.

I smiled at Jeremy one last time before going off to drink with my brother.

_**~LG~**_

It was about two in the morning when I got back home to the apartment Klaus and I currently lived in, but he was still awake. He was sitting on the couch, a sketch book in his lap. He was drawing at a supernatural speed, his pencil a blur as he shaded.

"Hate to break into your artistic focus, but I'm home. Did you miss me?" I said casually as I hung up my jacket and took off my boots.

Klaus looked up and grinned at me. Then he flashed over to me and kissed me in greeting. I stretched up on my toes and kissed him back. "Of course I missed you, Elizabeth," he said once he pulled away.

"Good, I'm glad. I'm also glad that you had the decency to clear out any hookers you had over before I came back," I said casually, teasing him.

Klaus rolled his eyes and returned back to the couch, picking up his sketch book. "Please, I don't pay for sex, love," he told me with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes at that. All men paid for sex- just in sneaky ways so that they didn't know it. I plopped down in his lap and took a sip of his drink. I looked down at the sketch he was drawing- something abstract that only other artists would get the meaning of.

"How was family day?" he asked absentmindedly, frowning in concentration as he continued to draw.

I shrugged. "Good. I missed them." Just ten, my cellphone went off. I was pretty sure it was Lily, so I got off of Klaus' lap and climbed up the fire escape and up to the roof to answer it. The sounds of the city mad outside nosier than inside, but I didn't mind.

"Hello?" I asked with a knowing grin.

"_He asked me to marry him!"_

I didn't even have to ask what Lily meant by that. "Did you say yes?" I demanded. I was going to kick her ass if she didn't say yes.

"_Of course!" _she said, as if it was obvious. _"Lizzie, we're going to be sisters!"_

I laughed. "I know we are! Don't you love the ring?"

"_It's beaut- wait, did you know?" _she asked me suspiciously.

"Of course, Lil." I rolled my eyes. "Or should I say Mrs. Salvatore?"

We talked about the engagement for another hour, before Lily had to return to Damon and I had to return to Klaus. I yawned as I climbed back into the apartment. I walked right into the bedroom and changed into my pajamas before slipping into bed. A few minutes later, Klaus joined me.

"Lilianna and Damon are engaged?" he asked curiously, slipping an arm around my waist and I snuggled into his chest.

I nodded and closed my eyes. "You heard me from the roof?" I asked in a sleepy voice.

He chuckled. "Please, with the screaming you two were doing, I heard Lilianna from the roof."

I just wrapped my arms tighter around Klaus. "I love you," I mumbled groggily.

I felt him kiss the top of my head. "I love you too, love," he said softly. "Now go to sleep."

Despite the excitement of Lily becoming my sister-in-law, I really was exhausted. I pressed my face into Klaus' chest, feeling safe as can be in his arms. We had moved on from my mistake of trying to kill him years ago. We loved each other, so he let it go. We both agreed that we had been rather cruel to each other before, and let it go. We didn't speak of it, we didn't need to.

I didn't think of Poppy very much either, she was only in the rare nightmare I had ever now and then, a flashback of the time she tortured me. Lily didn't speak of her sister, but she hadn't been angry Klaus killed her. She accepted that her sister she loved died centuries earlier.

My life was finally free of love triangles, psycho blondes, and death plots.

And I couldn't be happier.

**The end**

_**~LG~**_

**A/N: **thank you, so much, for everybody who has ever read, reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story. It means a lot. Thank you everybody for the support for this story. I loved writing it, and I'm sorry to see it finally finished.

Thank you, so much!

~Abby :)


	68. AN: mini sequel

Just so y'all know, I recently published a mini sequel to Letting Go that I hope you guys check out! It's titled Love Gone Mad.

The first chapter is up right now.


End file.
